The Colours Of Life
by Venjess
Summary: If life were an object it would be a painting, and they would use all the colours in the world.
1. Blue Is The Colour Of Trust

**So I've finally started rewriting this story again and this time I actually have a plot! (the audience cheers)**

**Seriously though, I'm sorry it took so long to get around to this, I had PKH2 and I'm still kind of slowly rewriting PKH as well and then I had my requests and I had to force myself to not act on other fanfic ideas I had because I ****_needed_**** to just finish this. I didn't really do a lot of writing during school last year either.**

**To be honest, updates for this are probably going to be really haphazard. I have school starting again in a week and it's going to be my final year so I really need to dedicate my all to it.**

**I'll try to write more for this in my spare time but please don't expect too much from me.**

**Other than actually having a plot planned now, not much should be too different from the original other than ages when they meet and stuff. That was actually one of the main reasons I chose to rewrite this, I thought it didn't really make sense for them to grow up and then suddenly meet everyone in a year.**

**Well anyway, here you go, the first chapter of New Beginnings or - as it is now called - The Colours Of Life. Which isn't really as deep and meaningful of a title as it might seem.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Blue Is The Colour Of Trust<strong>

His reddish hair hung over his face as he sat despondently; leaning forward so far on the swing that Hinata was surprised the boy didn't topple forwards onto the muddy ground below him. The playground was mostly deserted, it had recently been raining, so most of the other kids who frequented the area were currently still indoors.

The blue-haired boy glanced uncertainly over towards his mother before walking over to the swing set, "what's wrong?" he asked, kneeling down in an attempt to better see the other's face. The boy looked up in surprise; Hinata frowned slightly at the odd feeling of familiarity he experienced when their eyes met. Then the other boy glanced away and it was gone.

Hinata sat down on the swing set next to the red-head, glancing at him curiously whilst idly kicking his legs out at nothing. The boy thought for a moment, "you know, sometimes, if something's making you sad, it helps to talk about it with someone and stuff," he turned his attention forward, only to peek at the other boy out of the corner of his eyes.

With a sigh, he began to swing, the rusty chains squeaked in protest and Hinata wondered momentarily if it would break and he would fall, but he shrugged and figured he wouldn't be hurt too badly even if it were to happen.

"My name's Hinata, I know you didn't ask anything but that's what it is, Hideki Hinata, when I grow up I'm gonna be a baseball player, mum said that dad really liked baseball, she said that he got real sick when I was little, that he had to go away, but we'd see him again, and where he is right now he's really happy and stuff," he glanced at the other boy who was now peeking at him uncertainly, "do you miss him?"

Hinata started when the boy spoke, trying to hide his grin he shrugged carelessly, "not really, I don't actually remember him, but I do wish I had a dad sometimes," the red head nodded thoughtfully before looking back at the ground.

Hinata stilled, no longer attempting to swing; he sat in his seat, gazing forward at nothing as he waited to see if the other boy would speak again. Somehow, he knew he would.

And he was right.

"My name's… Otonashi, Yuzuru Otonashi," Hinata nodded, "well, do you maybe wanna talk about why you're sad, Oto?" The newly nicknamed looked up in surprise, "Oto?" he repeated dubiously, eyes narrowing in confusion. Hinata merely grinned and Otonashi frowned, kicking his legs and beginning to swing, "well… I guess it's fine if you want to call me that… _Hina_," Hinata whipped around to look at the boy who was smiling smugly, "that's a silly nickname!" he protested.

"So's Oto," the red head retorted before shrugging carelessly.

Hinata glared before starting to kick his legs angrily, swinging back and forward in time with the other boy for a little before exaggerating his movements in an attempt to go higher than the other.

Realising what he was doing, Otonashi returned the challenge, swinging higher on _his_ seat. And soon, the two of them were laughing, insisting that they had gone higher than the other and teasing each other.

Finally Otonashi declared a tie and giggling dazedly they slowed to a gentle swing instead. Otonashi fell silent, looking forward and leaning on the chain.

Hinata was considering asking him again why he had been upset, but Otonashi spoke before he could, "its… stupid but… my mummy's having a baby and they said they wouldn't love me any less because of it, but what if they _do_? What if the baby's really cute and well-behaved and they decide they like it better than me? Or what if the baby doesn't like me? And am I going to have to give up my room for it? And… I don't know," he sighed, leaning back to look up at the overcast sky. Hinata remained silent, waiting for him to finish, "I'm just a little bit worried and all cus it's a _baby_ and what do you do with a _baby_?" Otonashi looked at Hinata and he saw the confusion in the other's eyes and he shrugged, "according to mummy you dress them up and go on about how cute they are or something," Otonashi frowned, worrying at his lip, "is that all they do?" Hinata shrugged, "guess so."

"Well, that seems kinda silly, what's the point in getting a baby then?" Hinata shrugged, "dunno, adults are weird," Otonashi nodded in agreement, "but they're the ones who buy us treats," Hinata smiled, "and games," he added, Otonashi returned smile, "and games," he amended, "so they're not _too_ bad."

"Well, it's nice to know we adults have some use then," the two boy looked up at the woman standing in front of them, there was a smile on her face, but more importantly, there was ice cream in her hands.

Hinata jumped off his swing, "mummy," he ran forward, "did you get me ice cream?" the woman nodded, smiling fondly at her son, "some for your little friend as well," Otonashi looked up in surprise as he was offered the frozen treat, "I didn't know what flavour you like, so I got you chocolate," Otonashi took the sweet mutely, glancing from his new friend to his new friend's mother and back. "Thank you," he mumbled finally, before shyly giving the woman a smile feeling more cheerful than before already.

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><p>Otonashi – with his child-like mind – wouldn't be able to tell you how long he played with Hinata. All he would say was that it 'wasn't long enough'.<p>

In actuality, he played for around an hour before his mother turned up panicked, looking for him.

She hugged him with relief when she saw him, "don't run off like that," she scolded. Otonashi frowned apologetically, "sorry mummy, I was playing with Hina."

She turned to Hinata and his mother then, standing up to talk to the woman and thank her for taking care of her son, "I figured he would come here," she told him, "so I decided I should let him calm sown about it all, but when he didn't come back for so long I began to worry," she smiled self-consciously as Hinata's mother shook her head, "it's fine," she said dismissively, calmer now that her son's safety had been confirmed.

"Thank you for watching my son for me," she said and Hinata's mother smiled, "it was nothing."

Otonashi tugged at his mother's sleeve, looking up at her with big eyes, "we don't have to stop playing just yet, do we mummy?" She hesitated, glancing between the two boys who looked absolutely heartbroken at having to split up so soon.

She sighed, "I'm sorry, but we really should be getting home, Yuzuru, it's getting dark," at the two boys' depressed looks she smiled slightly, "but don't worry, how about me and your friend's mum exchange phone numbers? Then the two of you can play together whenever you want."

Otonashi and Hinata brightened considerably at the prospect, nodding their heads eagerly.

Before leaving with his mother Otonashi gave his new friend a hug. He had only known the boy for a little while, but for some reason, he felt really close to him, as though they understood each other and got along well naturally.

"Bye, Hina."

"Bye, Oto."

They grinned at each other and the nicknames they used before parting.

As Otonashi walked home, holding his mother's hand, he looked up at her with pleading eyes, "mummy? Can I play with Hina again tomorrow?"

His mother could only chuckle, relieved that her son was okay and that he was no longer upset over having a younger sibling.

But of course Otonashi wouldn't be upset.

After all, who cares about _babies_ when you've got a new best friend to play with?

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><p><strong>So there we go. First chapter up!<strong>

**Let me know what you guys think and stuff, is it more believable than the original? Do you not like it as much? It's not a lot to go on I know, I'll try to get up another chapter before I start school but we'll have to wait and see.**


	2. A Family Of Red

**Okay, I managed to get up the second chapter pretty quickly.**

**I'm quite proud of myself here haha.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: A Family Of Red<strong>

"Okay, mummy said we can sleep in the big bed in the TV room," Otonashi looked up at Hinata, he was looking through a picture book, only able to read a few of the words but enjoying himself all the same. "There's no big bed in the TV room," Otonashi spoke suspiciously, shooting Hinata a disbelieving look, "I've been in there, we were just in there," Hinata grinned mischievously, "oh really?" the blue haired boy was ridiculously pleased, it wasn't often he was right instead of Otonashi, this was one of those times, "come with me," he ordered. When Otonashi didn't move fast enough he reached forwards and grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet and dragging him out of the bedroom door.

Otonashi reluctantly followed, not happy about having to leave his book. They reached the TV room commonly referred to as the living room and Hinata dragged his friend in through the doors. They arrived just in time to see Hinata's mother sliding the bed out of the couch, giving out a small grunt against the heavy weight before setting it gently on the ground.

Otonashi gaped in astonishment at the bed that had seemingly come from nowhere and appeared in the middle of the room, he turned to Hinata who was grinning smugly, "how did she do that?" he asked. The boy's smile widened, "mummy's magic," he told him airily, "She can do all sorts of stuff," Otonashi looked at him enviously, "I wish I had a mummy who was magic," he mumbled. Hinata gave him a sympathetic look, "it's okay, we can share my mummy if you want," Otonashi stared at him in disbelief, "really?" he asked hopefully and Hinata nodded, "sure, that way you can stay here forever too."

Hinata's mother chuckled as she walked past the two of them, reaching down to ruffle her son's head, "it's nice to know you're okay with sharing me," she told him mock-seriously. Hinata- not recognising the joking tone- merely grinned and grabbed Otonashi's hand, "Oto is my best friend," he said to her, "So I don't mind sharing with him."

His mother smiled at that, "well that's good to know, how about the two of you watch some TV while I go get some sheets for the bed?" Hinata nodded eagerly and ran over to the DVD rack, "come on Oto, I'll let you pick," the red head smiled and ran over.

It had been nearly nine months since that day in the park; Otonashi went back there and played with Hinata almost every day; sometimes he would go to Hinata's house, sometimes Hinata would come to his. Earlier that day he had been dropped off at Hinata's house, he had been told he would be staying there for the night so he needed to be on his best behaviour.

Otonashi's mother had been gone for a few days for some reason, so he hadn't been able to tell her goodbye, but his dad promised that they would have a surprise for him when they came to pick him up. The young boy was quite curious as to what it could be.

In the end they decided to watch the second Transformers movie, the two boys lay down on their stomachs on the mattress of the pull-out bed talking about their favourite. When Hinata's mother came out to tell them it was time for bed there was the typical chorus of 'aww, no fair' and 'not yet mummy' but it wasn't long before the two were huddled under the sheets, eyes closed and sleeping soundly.

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><p>Light shone through the curtains and Hinata screwed up his eyes against the onslaught before sitting up, yawning tiredly. He looked to the boy sleeping next to him and frowned, leaning over he peered at Otonashi for a few moment before poking him, very slowly and deliberately on the forehead. There was no reaction and so Hinata poked him again, harder this time. When the boy still didn't wake up Hinata frowned, sitting up once more and looking at his friend as he deliberated his next move; after careful consideration he reached forward and rolled the boy off the bed.<p>

There was a loud 'thunk' as Otonashi landed on the carpeted floor, dragging the sheets behind them. There was a quiet moment in which everything seemed to momentarily freeze, then Otonashi stirred, sitting up slowly and rubbing at his eyes sluggishly. He turned to see his blue-haired boy squinting down at him, "Hinata?" the red head mumbled, stifling another yawn, "why am I on the floor?"

Hinata adopted a thoughtful pose, putting a hand on his chin, "hmm who knows? Maybe you fell off when you asleep, I was going to ask you why you were on the floor and stuff but then you said it first," the confusion was evident in his face as Otonashi spoke again, "but I don't really move around in my sleep."

"Well, you must have this time."

"Oh."

"Anyway, let's go play."

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><p>Otonashi was eating lunch with Hinata when someone knocked on the door; he twisted around in his seat to watch as Hinata's mother walked out of the room, he heard her exclaiming and the sound of two other people talking. The red head jumped out of his seat when he realised it was his parents and ran out into the hallway, Hinata following close behind. The first thing he was aware of was the sound of Hinata's mother cooing delightedly over something, as he rounded the corner he saw his mother and his father standing in the doorway, in his mother's hand was something bundled up in sheets.<p>

He frowned, eagerness fading as he regarded the bundle in his mother's arms with caution, edging closer he tried to get a closer look at the object, "oh there you are Otonashi," he turned towards his father who was smiling now, holding his arms out to his son for a hug. Otonashi walked over to him and wrapped his arms around his father's neck, once he had been lifted he peered over his father's shoulder to try and see what was wrapped up in the sheets.

Finally noticing his curiosity, his mother smiled at him and lifted the bundle; Otonashi was greeted with the sight of a chubby pink child with a tuft of red hair. It turned its attention away from sucking on its hand to meet Otonashi's eyes; the red head couldn't help but feel it was kind of cute. He smiled shyly, reaching over his father's shoulder to pet the baby's head gently, it gurgled happily, catching his small hand and starting to suck on a finger. When Otonashi wrinkled his nose at the baby's actions his parents laughed, "Her name's Hatsune, she's your little sister."

Otonashi glanced to his mother then back at the baby sucking on his fingers, he felt an odd feeling of affection, a close connection to the little girl, not unlike what he had felt when he had first met Hinata. She seemed really familiar and, watching the little girl with a small smile he realised he wasn't worried about having a little sister, having a baby around, the idea of giving up his room for her wasn't even seem so bad all of a sudden. Because she was his little sister Hatsune.

And he knew that, no matter what, he'd never give her up.

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><p><strong>I don't actually know how long a mother would spend in hospital with a baby, the last time that happened with us was when I was about ten.<strong>


	3. Nostalgic Purple

**It seems I am coming down with a cold.**

**But either way, I figured I should probably upload this chapter because why not.**

**We're taking a little break from our boys to go to someone else's story. Still little kids here.**

**Hope I did them justice.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Nostalgic Purple<strong>

He tugged against his mother's hand stubbornly, "I don't _want_ to go to the shops," he complained, voice taking on a high-pitched whiny voice that caused his mother to sigh and roll her eyes impatiently. It was clear to any curious onlooker that he did not gain his vibrant purple hair from his mother, anyone who knew the family well would know that his hair came from his father, a man who had left the instant he learned his girlfriend was pregnant.

His mother finally stopped and turned to look at her son, a displeased frown on her face, "how old are you?" he paused at the question, considering it, "I'm six," his mother nodded, "yes, you're a big boy now," he puffed out his chest proudly, "I'm a big boy, like daddy," he didn't notice the way she winced at those words, "well, did you know, big boys don't complain about going to the shops with their mummy," he frowned at that, "but…"

Seeing his reluctance she smiled ever-so-slightly before bending down to him, "besides, I need you to come with me to protect me," he frowned and his mother put on a mock terrified expression, "oh no, what'll I do if I'm attacked by aliens without my little boy there to save me?" He seemed horrified by the idea, pulling his hand out of his mother's grasp and running to a nearby tree before picking up one of the dead branches lying beneath and returning, brandishing the wood in front of him like a sword, "don't worry! I'll protect you from the bad guys!" he declared, a fierce, determine expression on his face.

She smiled slightly at his proclamation, kissing the top of his head, "thank you, Noda."

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><p>"We're here! Everyone out," she climbed out of the seat awkwardly, scrambling out of the truck and turning to look at the house they would be living in from now on. It was large and fancy, a two-storey house with more rooms than the family would need. It had a well-kept garden, with a pathway to the front door flowers lining the stone. There were houses on either side, with hedges serving as a separating border; the previous owner had clearly had a fondness for gardening. Yuri's parents were both successful lawyers, so the family was well off. "Ah, Yuri, be a dear and help you brother and sisters out," Yuri nodded, climbing into the truck once more and shaking her siblings awake one by one, "we're here," she whispered to them and they stirred, "mor'ing Yu," mumbled Kimiko, the second oldest of the family, Yuri gave her a smile, "it's afternoon," Kimiko mumbled incomprehensibly at the information before waving her hand in dismissal at her and turning over to bury her face sleepily into her booster seat.<p>

Yuri sighed impatiently, reaching over to shake the shoulder of her other sister, Manami, the second youngest of the family, "Manami, it's time to get up," she ordered and the brunette slowly opened her eyes to look at her sister sleepily, "really?" Yuri nodded, unbuckling the younger girl's seatbelt. She bypassed her younger brother, as the baby of the family he tended to be somewhat spoiled, but that wasn't the reason she let him continue to sleep at that moment. Yuri didn't fancy waking Ayumu up only to have him deafen her with his banshee screech of hell.

"Mummy, they're awake," she called out before turning back to the house.

Moving was fun.

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><p>When Noda headed home with his mother he was exhausted, trailing his feet sullenly as he followed the woman, awkwardly clutching the large plastic bags. He had spent the entire day running circles around his mother, stick clutched tightly in hand, keeping a careful eye out for anything that might hurt her; naturally, the result of this was the current state he was now in.<p>

"Mummy, I'm tired," he whined and she sighed, glancing down at him before turning her attention back to the car as she carefully placed the groceries in the boot, "we'll be home soon Noda," she told him, putting in the milk. The young boy tugged at her skirt peevishly, "pick me up," he commanded; his mother smiled at him slightly before putting the last bag into the boot, "hang on a second Noda," she told him, loosening his grip on her skirt before moving the trolley out of the way. She turned her attention back to her son, picking him up with a groan, "you're getting to be quite big, aren't you?" Noda didn't answer, wrapping his arms around her neck and burying his face into her shoulder. His mother sighed, patting his back gently and rocking him from side to side as she closed the boot with one hand, "you're going to be too big to carry soon," she told him, walking around to the side of the car, "not too big," Noda mumbled sleepily, and she smiled, "yeah," she agreed, kissing the top of his head, "you're my little baby boy."

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><p>Yuri put the box of stuffed toys on her head, steadying it carefully before letting go, "mummy! Look at me!" she called, running towards her. The sudden momentum caused the box to topple and fall to the ground, she heard her mother's exasperate sigh and said a quick sorry before running off to leave her mother to deal with the mess.<p>

She headed over to the hedge, pulling off a handful of leaves from the closest bush and inspecting them curiously. There was the sound of a car pulling up on the other side and she started as a car door was slammed. She pushed through the branches and peered through to the other side as a woman walked around the car and opened one of the side doors, "come on Noda, wake up," she said softly, reaching into shake someone inside gently.

There was movement inside of the car and someone with bright purple hair clambered out of the car, rubbing at his eyes. Yuri leaned forward when she saw the boy, wondering why he looked so familiar, her movement rustled the branches and the purple haired woman turned her way. Yuri let out a startled squeak, pulling back into the hedges out of sight. There was a moment's silence then Yuri heard the woman speak, "are you one of our new neighbours? You can come out, it's okay, don't be shy."

Yuri hesitated before pushing forward through the bush, stepping out on the other side, the woman smiled at her, "my name is Ai," she told her before pushing her son forward, "this is Noda, it's nice to meet you."

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><p>Noda stared at the girl before him, she looked to be about his age, her hair was a maroon-purple colour, her eyes were blue and her face was oddly familiar. For some reason, he found himself feeling shy and he stuttered as he greeted her, "h-hello," he reached up to grip at his mother skirt tightly with his small fist.<p>

She smiled at him (such a pretty smile), "my name's Yuri," and it was at that moment that Noda decided he wanted to be her friend.

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><p><strong>And there.<strong>

**So Noda x Yuri is going to be a ship in case I didn't mention it anywhere else.**

**This story is going to involve a lot of time skips, I don't think I'll many (if any) chapters that follow each other immediately. They're probably a little like one-shots to be honest.**

**But oh well.**


	4. When Green Meets Blue And Red

**Wow, I take forever to update and my chapters are so short it's just sad. I am very sorry everyone.**

**Anyway, I actually wrote this a while ago but didn't upload it, I think I had a reason but I can't remember it now so I'll just apologise again.**

**The plot for this story is pretty non-existent so oops.**

**Well, I hope you all like this chapter anyway.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Four: When Green Joins Blue And Red<strong>

"Homework _sucks_," Hinata complained, Otonashi simply sighed, shaking his head in a bemused manner, "well, it's necessary," he replied after a pause (he couldn't really deny that homework was boring, he didn't really like it either, after all).

"I can't believe they gave it us on the _first day of school_ though, we're only ten, what do they want from us?"

"They trying to kill off the weak ones early," Otonashi said seriously, "only the strong will survive."

Hinata looked horrified, glancing towards the teacher who was currently talking to someone standing at the classroom door.

"We need to get out of here Oto," Hinata hissed, terror in his eyes, "they're going to eat us!" Otonashi wondered how he came to that conclusion, before he could reply however the teacher got the classes attention.

"Everyone, we've got a new classmate, he's a bit late today but that's okay, I'm sure we'll all be very nice to him," she said. Hinata stared at her, Otonashi's words still playing in his mind as he tried to find a way to get him and his friend out of the classroom alive. They weren't going to be eaten if _he_ had anything to do with it!

Otonashi didn't really pay any attention to the new student either, instead choosing to do some of the homework they had gotten so that he wouldn't have to do it at home.

The teacher looked around the classroom before making a decision, "Otonashi, put your hand up please."

Startled, Otonashi did so, quickly putting his pen down and trying to pretend he had been listening the whole time. "Naoi, you go sit next to Otonashi, he'll take care of you, okay?"

The green haired boy looked up at her with wide eyes, nodding and giving an angelic smile, "yes, Miss."

He walked over and took the desk to the right of Otonashi, placing all his books in the tray underneath before sitting.

Trying to be friendly to the newcomer (despite the fact that Otonashi wasn't the social one between him and Hinata) he gave the boy a smile, "hello, I'm Yuzuru Otonashi."

Naoi gave him a calculating look, "since the teacher told _you_ to look after me, it must mean that you're her favourite, or she considers you the most reliable in the class," Otonashi's smile faltered, he looked at the boy with confusion, "uh…"

"Well, those days are ending for you now; I'm going to be top of the grade, so I suggest you step down now," Otonashi was completely lost by now. Hinata – who had been listening in – didn't really understand what the boy was getting at either. All he knew was that this new student was picking some kind of fight with his friend.

"No way, Oto is way smarter than you'll ever be, all the teachers like him," he hissed at the boy, shooting him a venomous glare. Naoi smirked, "clearly you're a dumb idiot who doesn't know anything, because I'm definitely smarter than him and soon all the teachers will know and like _me_ the best."

Hinata shook his head vehemently, "no they won't."

"Yes, they will."

"No, they _won't_."

"They will."

"They won't."

Otonashi sighed as the two continued to argue across his desk, he hoped they'd learn to get along better soon. With Hinata on his left and now Naoi on his right he just knew that this year at school was going to be catastrophic.

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><p><p>

Naoi had been part of the group for about a week.

A _whole week_ of arguments, and arrogant proclamations, and bossiness, and just general _torture_ for Otonashi.

The green haired boy had just stormed off once again after declaring current company not fit for his presence and Otonashi – must against his or Hinata's will – had gone looking for him.

When Otonashi found him, he was surprised at the situation the boy had managed to get himself into and yet, he couldn't help but not be surprised at all because it was _so very like him_.

Naoi had picked a fight with a group of the meanest, most arrogant, most terrible bullies that Year Five had to offer. Who, admittedly, weren't too bad, but to the others in the year level, they were the children of the devil himself.

The boy probably didn't even realise that he was provoking them by 'innocently' questioning their intelligence. It got to the point where one of them pushed him, knocking him over and Otonashi ran over there to help, Hinata close behind.

The blue haired boy yelled at them to 'back off' while Otonashi helped Naoi up. Said boy simply rolled his eyes, "I'm fine," he stated, shaking the red head off and causing Hinata to turn around angrily at the boy's lack of gratitude.

Before he could say anything though, Naoi reached into his pocket and pulled out a medallion, turning to the boys who had pushed him and were showing no signs of leaving, he began to swing the medallion back and forth.

To Otonashi's astonishment, it almost looked as though his green eyes had taken on a reddish hue before the boy began to speak, "you will go back to your lunch and not try to start another fight again," he ordered, and to Otonashi's amazement, the boys did just that, walking away with dazed expressions.

Hinata and Otonashi stared at him in amazement, "how did you do that?" Hinata asked, never one for subtlety. He turned away and chased after the boys, calling after him to Otonashi excitedly, "I'm going to see if they really _do_ go have lunch and behave themselves."

Naoi rolled his eyes, "of _course_ they will," he muttered insolently. Otonashi glanced at him, "that was hypnotism, wasn't it?" he asked and Naoi started, looking at him in surprise before turning, "so you're not a _complete_ idiot."

Otonashi chose to ignore the insult, "so when did you learn how to do that?"

"A few years ago," Otonashi peered at the boy closely, he didn't know Naoi very well, but he felt that the boy was keeping something important from him. After a moment of deliberation, he grabbed Naoi's arm, offering a quick 'come with me' before dragging towards a more secluded area behind the school buildings, shaded by the trees.

He sat down, pulling Naoi with him, "what do you think you're doing?" he pulled his hand from Otonashi's grip; any further scolding was cut short by Otonashi though.

"Why did you decide to learn hypnotism?"

Naoi stared at him in silent shock while Otonashi merely quietly waited for him to answer. Though some may not think he looked it, he was actually rather astute and he could tell that there was a very specific reason why Naoi chose to learn such an odd talent.

The boy scowled, "it's none of your business," he snapped angrily, looking away. Otonashi knew that even if that was the case Naoi would end up wanting to talk about it, so he wrapped his arms around his legs and rested his chin on his knees, staring wordlessly into the distance.

After a moment, Naoi started to speak, "fine," he said reluctantly, "I'll tell you, but only because you won't shut up about it. It's nothing special or anything, I have an older brother who's really talented and amazing, dad really loves him, in fact, he's dad's favourite son. I wanted to do better, to _show_ him that I could be better, so I thought, if I was the smartest, if I could do cool stuff like hypnotism, he might praise me as well," he buried his face in his knees, "no matter what I do though, I feel like I'm just living in my older brother's shadow, I have no life of my own."

Otonashi stared at him, surprised to learn that someone so young was having thoughts so… depressing.

When he had asked, he had had a feeling it was something important, but he had never imagined Naoi's answer to be that. Feeling at a bit of loss, he simply chose to answer truthfully, feeling like once, long ago, he had maybe dealt with a similar situation, though that was surely impossible, wasn't it?

"So who's sitting next to me, then?" he asked, ignoring Naoi's surprised look, "how odd, is it just a shadow? A boy I don't really know? I wonder who I've been talking to all week, someone who isn't real?" He spoke in a confused and slightly irritating manner, watching from the corner of his eye as Naoi got riled up.

"What are you talking about? Boy, you really _are_ stupid; you were talking to _me_ of course, Ayato Naoi!"

He didn't even bother to say anything, simply smirking slightly as Naoi paused before pouting, "You tricked me!" he accused, "I wouldn't have told you anything if I knew you were just going to contradict me."

Otonashi leaned against the classroom wall, "I'm sorry Naoi, I just don't see why you should be upset, that's all. You're you, as you said yourself, Ayato Naoi. And Ayato Naoi is a pretty cool person, he's smart and responsible, he knows how to hypnotise people for crying out loud," Otonashi threw out his hands in exasperation, "I don't know what's cooler than that!"

With every word Otonashi spoke, Naoi turned a slightly deeper shade of red, not used to being praised. When the other boy was done, Naoi looked down at the ground awkwardly, before either of them could say anything however, the bell rang and they had to return to class.

Otonashi didn't answer Hinata's query as to his whereabouts after the blue-haired boy ran off, instead he simply wondered if Naoi would believe his words.

He hoped he would.

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><p><p>

"Hey Oto."

"Hey Hina, did you do your homework."

"…"

"Hinata, did you do your homework."

Otonashi watched as his friend's face turned from confusion, to understanding to horror and sighed.

"Oto, I'm not going to survive this school year, am I?" the blue haired boy asked morosely.

Otonashi shook his head gravely, "it doesn't look that way," he said.

The two put down their bags, Otonashi pulled out the homework assigned yesterday while Hinata muttered about being eaten by the teacher.

"Ah, good morning, did you do your homework, Oto?"

Otonashi turned in surprise at the familiar voice to see Naoi standing behind, bag on back and smile on his face. He seemed to be almost sparkling and Otonashi wondered what on earth happened.

"I did my homework as well, though I had a bit of trouble with a few of the questions, though I'm certain that you got every single one right because you're really smart, even smarter than _I_ am," Otonashi still didn't speak, "oh, I hope you don't mind me calling you Oto, I just thought that calling you Otonashi wasn't very friendly and I really do admire you."

"Naoi, are you… okay?" Otonashi ventured, looking at the boy with concern who nodded eagerly, "yes, I just wanted to say thank you for listening to me yesterday, you really are kind."

"He's even crazier than before," Hinata stated simply and Naoi spun around to glare at him, "you're stupid, so I doubt you'd understand," he snarled, "I'm not stupid," Hinata snapped and Otonashi sighed as another fight broke out.

_'Well,'_ he thought to himself, _'at least he seems happy now.'_

And he figured if that was the case, he didn't mind if Naoi acted a little bit weird.

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><p><strong>Well, look at that. I'll figure out how to write stuff eventually *cries*<strong>

**Also, Naoi decided to trust Otonashi after only a week of knowing him, it's never going to be explained but let's just say it's because of the whole past life thing, so it's like, the feeling's already there and stuff.**

**Yeah idk.**


	5. A Clash Of Colours

**Hey guess who's finally uploading.**

**Super duper sorry I'm so bad at this sort of stuff now but hey, I'm in Year Twelve now and I'm doing heaps of stuff so I'm just going to use that as an excuse because I'm a piece of trash who dislikes accepting responsibility for things.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter, I've made a few changes to the story line, though not to this particular chapter. The plot overall is basically the same (so non-existent) I just out included another idea into it. It won't really be too prominent or anything.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five: A Clash Of Colours<strong>

"Hello Yuri," Otonashi greeted, smiling. Hinata scowled at him as he walked into his friend's house, "you really need to stop calling my mum by her first name," he hissed at the red head, "it's weird."

"What? She's the one who asked me to," the boy protested as he closed the door.

That answer didn't satisfy Hinata and he was about to say so when the Otonashi's other guest decided to make his presence known, "you're late again, monkey," Hinata bristled, turning to glare at Naoi who was leaning against the doorway with a superior expression on his face, "it's rude to Oto."

"Oto is the nickname _I_ came up with, stop calling him that!" Hinata snarled and Otonashi couldn't sigh as once again, a fight broke out.

He went into the kitchen to get some snacks, filling a bowl with chips and getting some cups of water for his two friends. He dithered about returning in the middle of a fight, but hoped that if he returned with refreshments, the two would be distracted from their argument in favour of eating the snacks.

Before he could test this theory however, someone tugged at his shirt.

He looked down with a smile to see his little sister clinging to him, "can I have some chips, Yu?" she asked, giving him her best puppy dog eyes.

With a small smile and a roll of his eyes, Otonashi bent down and offered her the bowl, "only a few," he reminded as she reached, "we don't want you to upset your tummy," she nodded and grabbed a small handful, stuffing them all in her mouth at once as though Otonashi might change his mind and try to take them from her.

The red head straightened once more and walked into the living room with Hatsune following close behind.

Otonashi paused when he saw Hinata kneeling in front of the table, "my existence is nothing compared to this paperclip," he moaned and Otonashi noticed that he was gesturing to a spare clip that had simply been left on the floor.

Naoi looked way too smug.

With a sigh, Otonashi put the chips and the drinks on the table and picked up the paperclip, turning to Naoi with a frown, "Naoi," he started, trying not to be too annoyed, "turn him back, please."

"But he's so much more agreeable like this."

"Naoi."

"Ugh, fine."

As the green haired boy bent in front of Otonashi's best friend, Hatsune latched onto Otonashi's leg, "can I have the clip, Yu?" she asked and Otonashi gave it her, wondering at the worried tone in her voice.

The little girl ran out of the room. Naoi stood up as Hinata stopped groaning about being pitiful and turned to Otonashi, "there," he said sulkily, "he's back to normal."

Hinata looked around in confusion, wondering why he was crouching on the floor before deciding that it must have been Naoi's fault somehow and got up, ready to start another argument.

At that point, Hatsune ran back and grabbed Hinata's hand. The boy looked down at her, surprised, "the clip is gone, Hina," she said, tugging on his hand insistently, "so please don't be sad anymore."

At Hatsune's words, Otonashi realised why the girl had wanted the clip. She had probably assumed that something about it was upsetting to the blue haired boy, not able to understand that he had been hypnotised. So, being the sweet girl she was, she had tried to cheer him up by getting rid of it.

Otonashi didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, so instead, he bent down and gave her a hug, drawing her away from Hinata – who was looking more confused by the second – and congratulated her, "he's very grateful, Hatsune."

At his words, the worry on her face vanished completely to be replaced by a smile full of dimples and teeth.

"So why did you invite the both of us over, Oto?" Hinata asked and Otonashi could hear the silent, _'rather, why did you invite __**him**__?'_

He sighed as the two boys began to glare daggers at each other once more; it was becoming abysmally obvious to him that his plan wasn't going to work. But Otonashi was optimistic, so he still decided it was worth a shot.

"You two need to stop fighting," he said simply.

Hinata snorted while Naoi muttered something about how 'even if Oto requested it, it was impossible to get along with a monkey'.

Otonashi didn't say anything.

As the two boys reached forward to grab a chip from the bowl, he pulled it away. They both shot him confused glances, but Otonashi shook his head, "until you each say something nice about the other, you don't get any chips."

The two boys looked horrified at each other, shooting a glance at the boy next to them before looking away with a frown.

"Fine, I don't feel like chips anyway."

"You can keep them."

Otonashi looked from one boy to the other before sighing and rolling his eyes, "are you _sure_?" he asked with a smirk, picking up one of the chips and biting into it with an audible 'crunch'.

He saw the look the two boys gave him and he had to stop himself from grinning as he made a sound of appreciation for the chip, just to push the point.

He watched as their resolve crumbled.

They might both be stubborn, but chips were chips.

And no one could resist them.

Naoi turned to Hinata, the discontent frown on his face mirroring the blue haired boy's expression perfectly.

Otonashi watched as they seemed to exchange some kind of silent communication, before coming to an agreement. He waited for them to say something nice, wondering what it would be when the two boys turned to him instead.

Hinata jumped at him.

Naoi leapt forward.

Otonashi jerked back in surprise, his grip on the chip bowl loosening. When the blue haired boy crashed into him, he let go completely, falling onto the floor with the other boy on top of him. He saw out of the corner of his eye as Naoi caught the falling chip bowl, managing to stop too many of the snacks from spilling.

The boy ran out of the room, calling out a 'terribly sorry Oto,' behind him. Hinata jumped to his feet and ran after the other boy, shouting for him to wait up.

When the two boys had exited – probably running off somewhere to hide and eat the chips in private – Otonashi sat up slowly, feeling slightly dazed, staring at the door they had exited out of. He couldn't believe that they would go to such extremes just to avoid complimenting each other.

"Well," he said to no one in particular, "at least they were able to work _together_ to get the chips."

It was a start.

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><p><strong>Yeah. I actually quite liked this chapter :)<strong>


	6. Platinum Purple

**Here's another chapter.**

**I don't know what I'm doing but I'm going to finish it no matter what.**

**I decided that I'm going to work through all my stories one by one so yeah hopefully that idea works, sorry to people who are waiting on my other stories, this is honestly probably one of the easier ones to finish, it's definitely easier than the requests.**

**I have to keep reminding myself that I can't start a new story yet because I have all these other one I have to finish omg.**

**Anyway, I don't own Angel Beats.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

**Thanks to all of those who have been reviewing, following or favouriting this story I don't deserve your love but I adore it all the same.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six: Platinum Purple<strong>

The first thing Yuri noticed about the girl was how quiet she always was.

With her golden eyes and her silver hair she was different from the other girls in a way that was quite iconoclastic. She could have easily become quite popular, but her silent nature and the way in which her expression never seemed to change drove people away.

Whenever someone attempted to make friends with the girl otherwise known as Kanade Tachibana, Yuri would merely look on with a bored expression as the person's words became more and more uncomfortable and awkward at the girl's lack of response. It was like watching a train wreck.

But Yuri didn't think it was because the girl was unsociable, rather, she had a feeling that Kanade was simply bad at dealing with people.

So if someone simply stuck to it and helped her come out of her shell, the girl might be able to make friends a little easier.

"A-ah, Yuri? What are you doing? Hey, wait a second!" Noda watched helplessly as his friend stood up – a familiar decisive look in her eyes that just spelled trouble – and walked over to another girl in the class.

The person that Yuri had decided to talk to was Kanade, who – if Noda remembered correctly – had spent most of her school year in hospital for some reason.

He didn't think it was a good idea to bother the girl. Kanade had skipped a grade, meaning she was a year younger than the rest of them, but despite that, she gave off a rather unwelcome aura.

But Yuri was Yuri and Yuri didn't listen to anyone else.

So she strode over to the girl confidently and plopped herself down next to her, sticking out a hand for the girl to shake, "hi, my name is Yuri Nakamura, it's nice to meet you."

The girl stared at her silently, her golden eyes alternating between her smiling face and her outstretched hand. After a moment, Yuri spoke again, more gently this time, "when someone holds out their hand to you, you shake it, if it's the first time you've met, and they've just introduced themselves, it's usually good to do the same."

Kanade nodded when Yuri was finished speaking, stretching out a small hand to shake Yuri's softly. Her grip was weak and unsure, as was her voice when she spoke, "I'm Kanade Tachibana."

And just like that, they became friends.

"Hey Angel?"

Kanade flushed, looking over at Yuri, "I wished you wouldn't call me that," she mumbled, "I've asked many times."

"Yeah, but I think it's funny."

A few months ago – after they initially became friends – a boy in their class confessed to the golden-eyed girl. He had been a generally plain boy by the name of Ooyama and had told Kanade that she was like an angel to him, sweet and gentle.

Kanade had turned him down bluntly, her expressionless face never changing; but by now, Yuri knew her friend well, and she could see the embarrassment in her eyes, the very faint trace of pink in her cheeks.

It wasn't that Kanade didn't have emotions; she was just bad at expressing them.

"What was it you wanted to ask?"

"Why are you always going to the hospital?"

Yuri had never been one for subtlety.

Kanade fell silent, considering the question for a moment before answering, "I was born with a weak heart, I need to keep returning to the hospital check-ups and stuff, to make sure it doesn't get worse."

Yuri looked at her friend with wide eyes, "you aren't going to _die_ are you?"

Kanade showed a rare smile at the other girl concern and shook her head, "no, I'm not going to die Yuri."

Noda wasn't overly fond of Yuri's new friend.

For one thing, because Yuri spent so much time with Tachibana, she was spending less time with _him_. Not to mention, Tachibana always seemed a little frightening to him. Of course, he wasn't scared of anything! But she _was_ kind of weird.

The three of them sat together now during lunch times and he was usually ignored now by his friend, much to the boy's chagrin.

Yuri was in fact ignoring him currently, in favour of talking with Tachibana about something they were planning on doing on the weekend.

Noda couldn't help but feel rather disgruntled at the how they were making plans in front of him to go to Tachibana's house and watch a movie. He never got to spend time with Yuri anymore.

"Ah, by the way, Noda?"

The boy looked up, startled out of his inner complaining and turning to the golden-eyed girl, "what do you want?" He grumbled.

"Well, I was wondering if you would like to come over as well, we can watch the movie together."

Noda stared at her, "you want _me_ to come over?" he asked disbelievingly. Tachibana nodded awkwardly, eyes flicking between him and Yuri.

He hesitated for a moment before nodding, "well, I suppose if you're both okay with me coming and stuff," he mumbled, suddenly feeling very shy and out of place.

Tachibana gave a small smile and nodded, saying that they both would very much like him to come.

Yuri commandeered the conversation then, planning out what movies they would be watching and in what order. Noda found he wasn't quite so annoyed now as the two girls spoke with each other.

Maybe Kanade Tachibana wasn't such a terrible person after all.

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><p><strong>There you have it.<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed it, feel free to let me know what you thought.**


	7. Blue Meets Pink

**So... sorry for not uploading for a while, there were difficulties. I actually thought I had lost this account for a bit there. Everything's been fixed though so it's all good.**

**Also, Yui and Hinata finally meet! Yay!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Blue Meets Pink<strong>

Hinata had thought it was a bad idea.

He had _said_ it was bad idea.

Playing baseball at the end of the park right next to a large, expensive-looking house was like a formula for a disaster. The others had agreed and they had planned to move the game until a boy with purple hair and a bad temper from another school had protested and said that it was the actions of a _coward_ to go to such lengths because there was a _slight_ chance of them _maybe_ hitting one of the windows of the house.

Naturally Hinata couldn't back down from the implication of his being a coward.

It would be a blow to his pride which simply would not stand.

So they had played, using his favourite ball. Noda had pegged the ball in his direction with all the force he was able to muster. Hinata had hit it with ease, much to his satisfaction. The ball sailed overhead, performing a perfect arc.

Then it crashed right through one of the windows of the house

Hinata swore and dropped the bat like it had burnt him. His friends shrieked and ran; part of him noticed how Noda was one of the first to run away but he was otherwise preoccupied with a feeling of despair.

He wanted to run as well. He didn't want to get caught; he could practically hear his mother's scolding tone ringing in his ears. Furthermore, he had no money to compensate whoever owned the house. There was no way confessing to his crime would end well.

But that was his _favourite_ ball.

* * *

><p>Yui was tired.<p>

She had been sleeping, her body weak and immobile as she lay in her bed, the blinding rays of the sun shone through her window in a way that was muted and slightly calming. It warmed her, lulling her into a dozy state, almost asleep but not quite.

She might have fallen into dreams, but at that moment there was a splintering, shattering sound and a sudden thwack of something hard and small landing into her side. She opened her eyes wide and turned her eyes to look at the baseball that had burrowed into the sheets currently covering her.

Further investigation showed a now broken window.

_'__What?'_

* * *

><p>Hinata felt apprehension building in the chest as he swallowed his fear and knocked on the front door of the large house. There was a moment's pause in which he began to doubt that his ball was worth the trouble he was going through for it. He loved it, but he couldn't very well play with it if his mother's murdered him for breaking someone window now could he?<p>

He was one second away from simply turning tail and running when the door was opened by a young woman. There were a few creases on the sides of her eyes, the only indication that she might be a bit older than she appeared. She had vivid pink hair, the exact same colour as her eyes. She was covered in overalls and the dirt smudge on her cheek led Hinata to think she must have been out gardening.

She probably hadn't even realised one of her windows had been broken.

Hinata's mouth was dry, nerves making him jittery as he tried to force himself to confess. "Hello, Miss, my name is Hideki Hinata, I'm afraid that- well, see, I was playing baseball with my friends in the park and I- _we_ might have… accidentally… broken your window."

Hinata flinched the moment the words were out of his mouth, expecting an explosion of condemnations and angry accusations.

Instead, the woman simply sighed worriedly, a calloused hand coming up tap thoughtfully at her chin. "Well, that is a problem," she said, "how troubling."

Hinata shifted awkwardly in front of her. "I'm very sorry," he said miserably, trying in vain to work out what the woman was thinking. After a moment she gave him a small smile, seeming to come to a decision.

"Well, my name is Satsuki Kippei; I doubt you would have money to pay for the damages would you?" Hinata shook his head, he wondered if maybe he should apologise again, but Kippei simply began talking again.

"I suppose it was to be expected, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later. How about, for the next two months you come in on Saturday afternoons and help me out around the house to pay me back for the damage? There'll be no need for me to tell your mum about this little incident either," she gave him a wink.

Hinata let out the breath he had been holding. Chores. He could handle that.

Not to mention, she had promised not to tell his mum about the whole ordeal.

"I take it you would appreciated having your ball back young man?"

Hinata grinned; it was almost too good to be true. But he sure wasn't complaining, "Yes please, Miss."

She gave him a fond smile and let him inside the house.

* * *

><p>Yui lay in bed, coughing weakly. She pondered calling out for her mother, to alert her to the sudden intruder. The ball was still lying at her side, untouched and unmoved. She stared at it for a few long silent minutes.<p>

"Oh, I do hope that the noise didn't wake Yui."

She turned her attention away from the ball at the sound of her mother's voice on the other side of the wall, out in the hallway.

"Yui?"

That wasn't her mother.

Who was that?

Maybe it was the owner of the ball, it sounded decidedly masculine and there were almost always boys playing baseball in the park.

"Yes, she's my daughter, she recently caught a rather bad cold, she's been bedridden for a few days now and has been needing her sleep. Are you sure this is the room it went into?"

"Ah, yeah, sorry."

The door opened then and Yui turned her head to the new visitors.

When her eyes fell on the boy standing behind her mother, a whole range of emotions suddenly swelled in her chest; grief, joy, hope and an overwhelming sensation of satisfaction, almost as though someone had fulfilled a promise that she had been waiting for.

Her eyes watered and she broke away from his gaze, instead turning to the baseball and picking it up.

"Is this yours?"

She asked throat still hoarse from her cold.

The boy nodded, once, a dazed look in his eyes.

She held it forward, offering it to him with a small smile. There was a confusion in his eyes that led her to wonder if he was maybe experiencing the very same onslaught of emotions as she was.

Her outstretched hand was trembling slightly, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with knife as the boy finally reached forward to take it. He curled his fingers around it and she felt every small scrape of the back of his fingers on the palm of her hand.

He paused and looked at her.

His hand was still in hers, still wrapped around the baseball.

Blue eyes met pale pink and there was recognition in those gazes. His eyes softened and he gave her a small, uncertain smile, "I'm Hinata, Hideki Hinata."

Yui found herself nodding, whether out of agreement or approval she wasn't sure. There was a warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with her fever and her smile widened to the point where it felt like her face was being stretched. But she couldn't stop, she felt so inexplicably happy, this bubbling joy inside her as though she had found something she had been looking for, for a long time.

"I'm Yui."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeahhh.<strong>

**So.**

**There you go.**


	8. Warm Colours

**Here's another chapter, yeah.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

**Sorry for the long waits in between, I'll try and upload quicker!**

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><p><strong>Chapter Eight: Warm Colours<strong>

Hisako was a pretty popular girl at her school. She was friendly and light-hearted, managing to accumulate a group of companions with whom she would hang with on a daily basis.

But none of them were what she would call a best friend.

It was strange, but she felt like there must be some kind of wall. Maybe they all secretly didn't enjoy her company, and that's why she didn't feel really close to them. She'd hear tales of best friends who just 'clicked' with each other. But she never really had that.

She'd like to have a best friend.

She'd like to have someone who she could trust enough to tell everything to. Someone who she could whisper about her crushes to, someone who would listen to her play her guitar, who would hear out her dreams of being part of a band and promise to support her whole-heartedly.

That's what best friends do. Right?

She couldn't say for certain, because she'd never really had one.

Not for lack of trying of course; she would meet someone who seemed kind and lots of fun, but she could never quite bring herself to start talking about some of those more secret things. She had no idea how to go about it. Did you just one day decide to tell them? No matter who it was, the idea made her rather uncomfortable, and in the end she wasn't able to do it.

And so it continued that way until she was fourteen. Having friends with whom she could pass the time with, but nothing more.

She had transferred schools at the beginning of the year, but it didn't take her long to assimilate. Before the day was through, she had already gained a group of friends, similar to her old ones.

One of these friends told her about the music room and a few weeks into the new school year, she decided to check it out. She played the guitar, it was after all one of the coolest instruments out there, and she figured it might be worth her while to see if there was anyone interesting who did as well.

She didn't realise at the time just how interesting of a person she would find there.

* * *

><p>Iwasawa preferred to practise her guitar during the breaks at school. She was known and well-liked by all of the music teachers as a result of her fierce love for music in any and all of its forms.<p>

Though she had ceased to learn it a few years ago, Iwasawa still played the guitar and sang regularly. She had several notebooks at home filled with songs that she had written, and though there was no one she particularly cared to show them to, she continued to create more and more music.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?"

Iwasawa tucked some of her short pink hair behind her ear, one hand still lightly gripping the guitar resting on her lap. She looked up towards the door, curious and mildly irked about whoever had disturbed the music room this lunch.

At the exact moment she noticed her, the brunette saw her as well, and Iwasawa watched as a friendly smile appeared on her face, the girl strode towards her comfortably, one hand held the strap to her guitar case, keeping it over her shoulder.

"Hi there, I'm Hisako."

Iwasawa gave her a small, disinterested smile, eyes alighting on the guitar case the other girl was carrying, "I'm Iwasawa, do you play?"

The brunette nodded and sat next to her casually, more so than anyone else had before. Iwasawa knew that a lot of people viewed her as the music nut, she probably wasn't as good at interacting with other people as she should be. But for some reason, she thought music was one of the most important things in the world.

She couldn't explain it, just that one day she listened to some song and realised that she wanted to be doing that. She wanted to make something beautiful, she wanted to write her feelings and emotions out and share them with the world through the strumming of her guitar.

And in the end, she got a little obsessed.

"How long have you been learning?"

If it had been anyone else, Iwasawa knew that the question would have sounded like an attempt to make small talk. But she could see by the expression on Hisako's face that the brunette was genuinely curious and she felt… pleased.

"I started learning when I was five, what about you?"

The two lapsed into conversation with more ease than anyone else they had met before. Neither had been able to speak so comfortably with even their parents.

* * *

><p>The bell signalling the end of lunch cut through their chatter sharply, startling the two girls. Iwasawa realised that she had not played her instrument for the entirety of the lunch break, so absorbed in her conversation, she had simply forgotten.<p>

She couldn't think of a time before when something like that had happened.

Hisako stood up and looked down at her, a grin on her face that Iwasawa understood immediately. There was a mutual joy found in the other's company, and both were interested in indulging that for a little longer.

Despite herself, Iwasawa felt a desire to know this girl better, and before the talkative brunette could say anything herself, she asked hurriedly, "Do you want to listen to me play tomorrow?"

A flash of surprise passed over the other girl's face and Iwasawa wondered if she had said something wrong. It was a little arrogant to assume that she was good enough for someone to want to listen, especially someone who could play the guitar themselves already. Before she could retract the invitation Hisako answered and Iwasawa felt a smile spread across her face.

"Sure, but you gotta let me play for you too."

"That sounds great."

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah, these two meet up.<strong>

**I'm actually writing the chapter right now where Hinata and Yui become a thing. At least, that's how I'm currently planning to end the chapter.**


	9. Gold And Purple

**I am like, a thousand percent sorry for not uploading for so long, but I've been wanting to more or less get the story done before I upload again, so that's the situation. I suppose you might be wondering if that means I've finished writing it, well, almost. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want an epilogue. If I choose to just not bother then I'm currently writing the final chapter. If I include then I'll have another to go after this.**

**Either way, the updates should be quicker now and stuff.**

**The epilogue isn't necessary so I'll probably go without, by the time I upload the next chapter I'll have so yeah.**

**Anyway, really sorry for taking so long, in my defense, I'm also in my last year of school so that's a thing.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

**I hope it's worth the wait *laughs***

* * *

><p>Miyuki Irie was not good with ghost stories. So she just <em>knew<em> that she would regret going on the camping trip with her parents and another family from her dad's work. Apparently they had a daughter around her age, so the two of them could become 'friends'.

She honestly would have preferred to stay at home instead of staying a weekend in some spooky forest where she was very probably going to be murdered brutally by some kind of monster.

Sometimes when she got too frightened about certain things, she liked to play the drums loudly, as though pretending she was scaring off anything that could bring her harm. But she was hardly going to be able to bring her drum set with her. There's no way her mum or dad would allow it, and it wouldn't really make sense anyway.

So for the first time in a long time, she found herself dreading the end of week.

She just hoped she could avoid getting killed.

* * *

><p>Shiori Sekine wasn't happy about missing out on her weekend. Sure, it was going to be spent camping, which had the potential to be enjoyable. But she would be going with her family, and some family of her mother's workmate. She didn't even know why they decided it would be a good idea. All that mattered to her was that there was going to be no one fun there and that would suck.<p>

"Oh stop sulking, Shiori, it'll be great." The blonde girl looked up to where her father was packing the car and scowled at him. Sure, it might be fine for _him_, but it was going to be _so boring_ for her and he knew it.

"The Irie family have a daughter about your age, I'm sure the two of you will be able to get along great. She's supposed to be at your school, I'm surprised you don't know of her."

Shiori perked up at that considerably, eyes alighting with mischief. There was going to someone else her age there?

Her father must have recognised the look in her eyes because he adamantly shook his head, "don't go trying to scare her, understood?"

Shiori just smiled and nodded sweetly, already planning what kind of spooky stories she could tell.

* * *

><p>Miyuki looked around nervously. There were trees on every side, looming over her ominously, dark and foreboding. She had stifle a small whimper, turning to her family for reassurance. They were already setting up their tent cheerfully, as though they found nothing wrong with the current camping ground.<p>

The Sekine family pulled up next to their car and she turned to look at them as the adults climbed out, chatting to each other cheerfully.

How could none of them see how utterly terrifying this place was?

They were going to be killed by ghosts. All because her parents thought they didn't go outdoors enough.

Miyuki was still panicking silently over how she was going to survive the weekend when the other family's daughter jumped out of the car, looking around with a devilish smile on her face that exuded confidence. Miyuki stared at the girl taking in her blonde her and golden eyes and wondering why she seemed so familiar.

The thoughts were pushed out of her mind when the girl turned her way, eyes lighting and grin widening to near manic levels, leaving an already discomforted Miyuki even more uneasy.

The purple-haired girl stood nervously as the other strode towards her, coming to a stop in front of her with her hands on her hips.

"I'm Shiori Sekine."

Miyuki relaxed a bit at the friendly greeting, enough to return the gesture, "I'm Miyuki Irie."

"Miyuki Irie… hmm," Shiori tapped a finger on her chin, pursing her lips thoughtfully before another smile appeared, "okay, I'll call you Miyukichi."

"Miyukichi?"

Shiori nodded and Miyuki smiled, trying to understand why the name seemed familiar and why – though normally she disliked nicknames – she didn't mind be called that.

As she was thinking on this, Shiori's smile faded to a look of horror, Miyuki felt dread creep up on her as the blonde began to tremble, raising a hand to point behind her, "w-what's that?"

Miyuki almost couldn't bring herself to look, the hair on the back of her neck prickled, her eyes focusing on only the horrified look on Shiori's face and the torn feeling of wanting to turn to see what was behind her but not wanting to at the same time. Her heart pounded in her chest and she feared she might faint as she screwed her eyes shut and spun around with a shriek to see…

Nothing.

Laughter began to sound from behind her and Miyuki turned bright red, the embarrassment almost too much to bear as the adults stared at her. A hand clasped onto her shoulder and she turned to glare at the blonde girl who had frightened her so.

Shiori showed no sign of regret, instead her eyes were glistening as she struggled to catch her breath. After a few moments, she left out a contented sigh, "you know Miyukichi, I think we're going to be good friends."

* * *

><p>The amount of times Miyuki nearly died of a heart attack on that camping trip was unlimited.<p>

But she found that when Shiori wasn't frightening her, she was actually quite fun to be with. On Monday, when school started up again and Shiori came to find her, she found she didn't quite mind as much as she might have, even though the other girl greeted her by ways of another prank.

"Come on, we're going to the music room."

Miyuki frowned, glancing at her other friends before allowing herself to be pulled away, "why?"

A grin appeared on Shiori's face, "I hear its haunt-"

"What!?"

The blonde snickered, "Only joking, I left my bass there."

"Oh do you play?"

Shiori nodded giving her a proud look as they came to a stop in front of the music room, "I've been learning for three years."

"Really? It must be nice playing the bass. I'm happy with my drums though."

Shiori stopped, hand inches away from the door handle, "you play the drums?" Miyuki nodded and the blond shook her head, bewilderment on her face, "I wouldn't really have thought you the type, but for some reason it fits. Anyway, let's go in," with those words she yanked open the door, calling out a greeting ahead of her.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

* * *

><p>"Hey, we should start a band."<p>

Iwasawa raised an eyebrow at Hisako, "just the two of us?"

The brunette paused and shrugged, "well, I don't see why not."

Iwasawa just laughed before turning back to tuning her guitar. There was noise coming from outside the music room, '_someone must be having a conversation_' she thought idly before jumping as the door was yanked open.

"Hello? Anyone in here?"

* * *

><p><strong>So there you go. I wanted to have the girls start the band up again. Yui is a big fan fyi.<strong>


	10. Reddened Memory

**Okay so, I've made my decision to forsake the epilogue so sorry to anyone who was hoping for one but it's fine without. I've finished this story now and I'll just be uploading like, every day or something till it's done.**

**I've handed in all my assignments save for Chemistry so I'm going to have more time for studying for tests, writing my own story and doing these. Basically, I'm going to have more time so that's great. I'll probably be going to finally do my Kingdom Hearts requests. I'll get those out of the way, upload them and then worry about what story to do next after that. So, if you're a reader of my requests for KH then I guess you have something to look forward to in the next century when I finally start uploading them.**

**Anyway, I don't own Angel Beats.**

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter too.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Ten: Reddened Memory<strong>

"Ah Otonashi, come here."

The red head turned to his mother, an eyebrow raised in question as he walked over. "Is something the matter?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. We're going to the Coast at the start of the holiday though, so you'll need to pack your bag for it, that's all."

Otonashi perked up at that, "we're going on a holiday? How long?"

His mother tapped a finger on her chin thoughtfully, sweeping red hair behind her with a habitual flick of her head. "Well, we'll be catching the train on Sunday in the first week, then we'll be coming back at the end of the holidays on a Thursday, so that would be…"

He froze, "what was that?"

"Well, it should be around eleven days."

"No, not that. Did you say we'd be going by train?"

His mother frowned, "well of course we are. How else are we supposed to get there?"

Otonashi attempted a small smile, shaking his head and trying to ignore the discomforted feeling swelling in his chest, as though something terrible would happen if he went on that train, "it's nothing, I wasn't thinking I guess."

His mother gave him a bewildered look but didn't say anything else for which Otonashi was grateful.

Because if she had asked him about it, he wouldn't have been able to explain.

* * *

><p><p>

Nothing else was said on the matter of the trip to the coast. But the issue prayed on Otonashi's mind and he found himself dreading it with every day that it came closer, the same way Hinata dreaded going to the dentist for some inexplicable reason.

For the first time, Otonashi wished that the holidays would never come. He would be perfectly content to continue attending school, he'd even willingly take on several more assignments if it gave him an excuse to not go on the vacation with his family.

Unfortunately, no such blessing arose, and the clock continued to count down.

"Hey Otonashi, are you okay? You've been acting kind of…" Hinata trailed off as he tried to find the proper word to explain, "well, you know, weird."

Naoi spoke up from where he was sitting on the bench eating his lunch, "though it pains me to say it – more than anything else ever has before, I agree with the monkey, Oto. You have seemed a little… _off_ lately, are you alright?"

Before Otonashi could reply, Naoi jumped up, determination flashing in his eyes, "if there is something troubling you, please do not hesitate to tell me! I will do anything within my power to help you," he cried.

Hinata stood up, "hey, that's my line!"

The two glared at each other, their typical rivalry momentarily causing them to forget their initial concern.

But when their argument wasn't broken up by their red headed friend, they begin to worry even more, turning back to the boy who was simply eating his lunch quietly, in an alarmingly subdued manner.

Hinata sat down next to him, "listen Oto, you really can tell us if something's wrong you know."

The boy looked up from his lunch, glancing between his two close friends for a few moments before smiling slightly, "I appreciate the gesture, it's nothing serious though, so don't worry about it."

_A ticket flying away from his reach._

"It's nothing though, I've just been thinking about a lot of stuff I suppose."

_An intense pain in his side. No time to worry about it._

"Oto, even if you don't think it's anything to worry about, we would like to know, if you're fine with telling us," Naoi insisted to which Hinata nodded emphatically.

Ever since his mother had brought up the train ride, Otonashi had been having weird flashes, odd memories – or rather, _whispers_ of memories, nothing tangible enough for him to understand, but still enough for him to feel frightened and confused. But looking at the concern on the faces of his two friends, Otonashi felt comforted, and for the first time since the talk with his mother, the clutter in his mind died down a little.

He gave them a genuine smile, "thank you, I feel a little better as it is now."

He wasn't sure why he had such an odd phobia to trains, but he figured he wouldn't get over it by just leaving it be.

And with that decision, Otonashi began thinking about all the things he would do at the coast.

* * *

><p><strong>So this is sort of short.<strong>

**And yes, they have vague memories of things. No, they're not going to remember, it's not that kind of fic, reincarnation isn't normally something that you remember I don't think.**

**Also, it might be out of nowhere but I can Naoi and Hatsune being a good ship. It's not going to happen in this story, but you know. It's a thought.**


	11. Identical Colours

**Does anyone remember Fujimaki?**

**The guy whose one wish was to not be forgotten?**

**Well, I sort of forgot about him haha.**

**Okay not really don't worry, I planned to give him a chapter from the start.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven: Identical Colours<strong>

Fujimaki sputtered, head slipping under the water yet again as he flailed his arms, vainly trying to gain some purchase in the deep water, grasping at the liquid and feeling it pass through his fingers as he desperately tried to slow down his descent.

His lungs ached and his throat burned as failed to break the surface for another breath. His vision began to go dark and blurry and he couldn't prevent a gasp for breath, bubbles rising from his mouth, air replaced with the murky water.

As he lost consciousness he wondered if he was going to die here.

And if he was, would anyone even remember him?

* * *

><p><p>

The boy coughed and sputtered up water, taking in a few deep breaths of air and shaking his head a little, water droplets dripping from his fringe and running in rivulets down his face.

He was soaking, but he was alive.

Ooyama breathed a sigh of relief, sweeping his wet hair out of the way of his face. He had been passing by when he heard some splashing in the deeper part of the river. Thankfully, being the type of person he was, he had dabbled in a bit of everything, even if he had never excelled in any of them.

But he had taken a few lifeguard courses, and knew how to perform CPR. He had never thought there would come a time when he would need to use it. But life was full of surprises it seemed. He was just glad he had been able to help.

"Thank goodness you're okay," he smiled slightly; "We should probably get you to the hospital though, just to make sure." He began searching in his pockets for his phone, "just hang on a sec-"

"No."

He glanced up in surprise at the other boy who was now sitting up, looking considerably better already. Despite that, Ooyama was worried.

"What are you talking about? You nearly drowned, it's better to be safe than sorry with this sort of thing."

"I feel fine."

"But sometimes you can't tell with this sort of thing!" Ooyama had located his phone and he pulled it out of his pocket.

"I said I feel fine!" The boy snapped and Ooyama flinched a little.

"What were you even doing? How did you manage to nearly drown like that?"

* * *

><p><p>

Fujimaki shifted a little on the ground, his clothes were sticking to him and he was shivering a little from the cold.

The truth was that he had hoped to teach himself how to swim.

He was having more and more trouble keeping the truth from his friends. Noda was the only one who knew, and the guy didn't hesitate to use that weakness in an argument. Fujimaki was getting sick of it being brought up, so he decided he would teach himself how to swim. He had come to this particular river because not many people were around and it was very slow moving, so he could practise without trouble and not be seen by anyone.

Obviously, that hadn't gone exactly to plan.

Fujimaki was willing to admit it (well, to himself at least) it had been his fault. He had gotten overconfident and moved out to the deeper parts of the river, towards the middle. The water had been a little faster there and he had lost his footing. Panicking, he had struggled to swim only to make it much worse.

Leading to the situation he was now in.

The boy in front of him was of a smaller build, with worried brown eyes and brunette hair; a rather plain looking boy who didn't leave much of an impression. Much like Fujimaki himself.

He looked away, "and what's your name kid?" he asked, hoping to distract the other from the thing that had caused both of them to become so utterly drenched.

The boy startled before turning red apologising profusely, "I'm so sorry! Ah, where are my manners, I'm Ooyama Aiko, it's nice to meet you."

"Fujimaki Minoru," he muttered in reply, before slowly getting to his feet, "thanks for helping me out there, I owe you one."

His response was a shake of his head, "I'm just glad I could help."

"Really? Well, do you reckon you could give me a little more help? I haven't eaten all morning and I'm starving, but I don't have any money…

"Care to shout me a meal?"

* * *

><p><strong>Fujimaki bro, if you pass out after drowning procedure says that you're supposed to go to hospital. I looked this up you know.<strong>

**Furthermore, trying to distract someone by asking them to buy you food is a silly thing to do, Ooyama's too nice.**

**Don't worry guys, Ooyama convinces Fujimaki to go to the hospital.**


	12. Lovestruck Blue

**So I just had an Italian test and let me tell you, it was not fun.**

**However, it's over and I only have one more test to do for school ****_ever_**** which is a little daunting but exciting all the same.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twelve: Lovestruck Blue<strong>

Music was playing loudly from inside the house and Hinata groaned knowing that he would have to endure listening to it as he did odd chores around the house.

He had long since paid Satsuki back, but the kind woman seemed so frazzled all the time that Hinata figured it couldn't hurt to say around and help out a little longer. It didn't take too much time relatively speaking.

Also, he got to see Yui.

Not that that had anything to do with anything.

Obviously.

The girl had horrible taste in music for one thing, and she was always so loud and turbulent. Hinata got frustrated just _seeing_ her.

"Good morning!" He called out, though he doubted he would be heard by anyone in the house, his voice was most likely drowned out by the obnoxious music being played.

With a disgruntled groan, Hinata stuck his hands in his pockets and headed towards the source of the music, the kitchen. Maybe he could find someone who would be able to let him know what he needed to do today.

He rapped lightly on the door, but received no response, so with a roll of his eyes he opened the door and froze.

Yui was dancing.

She moved around the room, twirling and leaping and it certainly was not graceful in any definition of the word but it was still amazing. She was singing along to the music whole-heartedly, so distracted that she didn't even notice Hinata's arrival.

He could recognise the music, it was from some new band called Girls DeMo, or 'Girls Dead Monster'. Hinata didn't think much of them, but Yui adored the four teenage girls, regaling the blue-haired boy with her fantasies of one day joining.

He had always told her that she would never get into a band like that, not in a hundred years.

But watching her now, Hinata believed she could.

There was a look of intense concentration on her face, and he could just make out her sweet voice over the loudly playing music. She was pantomiming playing a guitar, moving her fingers up and down and turning side to side, doing a spin every now and then.

Hinata felt he should interrupt, but he couldn't bring himself to.

Instead, he simply stared at her, fascinated, _captivated_.

He found himself wondering if she had always had such a nice smile, or if that was something new. He tried to remember if her hair had always been such a gorgeous shade of pink, if her tendency to jump up and down so energetically had ever been so endearing.

He remembered the feelings that had swelled in his chest when he had first met her. He remembered how cheerful he felt when she was around, even when she was acting immature or annoying. He remembered these things and he wondered if it meant what he thought it meant.

And if it did, what was he to do about it?

"Oh! How long have you been there!?"

Snapped out of his thoughts, Hinata briefly raised his hands in defence before lowering them and grinning instead, "I've been here a _very_ long time. I didn't know you were such an eager dancer."

Yui turned a bright red and ran at him, he let out a yelp as they collided and began to wrestle.

Maybe it was love, maybe it wasn't.

But right now, he was just happy to spend time with her.

* * *

><p><strong>These are basically all little one-shots in a specific order aren't they haha.<strong>

**Oh well.**


	13. Platinum Memories

**Sorry for the wait but I lost my laptop for a while there haha.**

**Anyway, I don't own Angel Beats.**

**Enjoy**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen: Platinum Memories<strong>

Ooyama was a rather simple boy in a way. Having recently made a new friend in such an odd way, he found he had been a very cheerful mood as of late because of it.

In the end, Ooyama had been able to convince Fujimaki to go visit the doctor, with the insistence that he came with him. It seemed he had something of an issue with places like hospitals and people of the medical profession, since they were all 'stuck-up snobs'.

At any rate, Fujimaki had been fine and so Ooyama had bought him a meal as he had asked. They had talked and in the end, found they had a surprising amount in common. Fujimaki promised to buy him something in return next time, as a thank you for what the other had done for him. Ooyama had said it wasn't necessary, but the other boy had insisted.

After that, their friendship had taken off quickly and Ooyama was pleased to say that they got along very well most of the time.

Just recently that day, Fujimaki had introduced him to some of his other friends. They had been quite frightening at first, but Ooyama quickly found that they – like Fujimaki – were really nice people after all.

Ooyama had a lot of fun.

But even the most enjoyable days had to come to an end, so he now headed home. Tired but happy to have met so many new people and made so many new friends.

At least, that is what he had been doing, until he bumped into someone he knew from a few years back.

Literally.

"Oh, I'm so very sorry!"

Ooyama hurriedly jumped to his feet, offering a hand to the girl with a flustered expression. Golden eyes met his briefly before the girl stood – ignoring the help – brushing herself off, "it's fine."

The girl that stood in front of him was as pretty as he remembered, her platinum hair shining, molten eyes flashing.

"Kanade?"

The girl tilted her head to one side, and Ooyama could see, it was definitely Kanade Tachibana in front of him now.

"Do I know you?"

Ooyama flushed, mind going back to that awkward day with panicked confessions and flat rejections. She had been his first love, but of course, it had been a very long time ago.

No wonder she had forgotten.

He shook his hands, as though trying to wave away the memories of the past, "ah no, I think I must have mistaken you for someone else, sorry. I'd better get going."

The girl said nothing about the obvious lie, simply nodding her head and stepping to on side to walk around him.

Ooyama watched her walk away.

* * *

><p><p>

There was someone on his lawn.

Someone was sitting on the grass in front of his house, inside the gate, playing with his dog.

Ooyama dithered nervously, one hand resting lightly on the wood of the gate, trying to work out if he dared to open it.

"You can come in."

The voice was soft, almost condescending, but undeniably from the girl crouching in the garden petting his dog.

_'Isn't it my home? Shouldn't it be the other way around?'_ he said nothing though and simply walked in, treading carefully as though one false step might upset the intruder. He came to a stop beside the girl, bending down nervously and glancing between her and the dog she was devoting all her attention to. As he studied her, he noted the bluish hair, the scarf she had wrapped around her neck, and the startling red eyes, like two brightly-burning flames.

Ooyama wasn't sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually, the girl turned towards him, eyes narrowed, expression completely different to that which she had worn just moments ago, "letting an unknown person roam your yard? Foolish," she muttered derisively, and Ooyama jumped up defensively, blushing at the sudden insult.

"Th-that's not," he paused, he couldn't really dispute the fact, after all, he hadn't told her to leave.

He wondered why that was.

"Well… if you tell me your name, then I'll know you, and it won't be so strange to let you 'roam my yard' as you say."

The girl gave him a passive look, silently contemplating him before her hands on her hips, "I am Shiina. That's all you need to know."

"Ah, well, I'm Ooyama Aiko, it's nice to meet y-"

"Be quiet, what is your dog's name?"

Startled by the callous reply, Ooyama could only stutter in response, "o-oh, well h-he's, um…" he trailed off into a mumble, "Fluffy."

Shiina's expression didn't waver, "his name is Fluffy?"

Bashfully, Ooyama nodded, wishing he had chosen a more adult, serious-sounding name for his puppy when…

"It suits him perfectly," the brunette looked up in surprise to see a strange reddish tinge to the girl's cheeks, a light in her eye, giving those flames a look as though they were flickering. She bent down and scooped the puppy up into her arms, coddling it and whispering its name over and over again in a doting tone.

Ooyama couldn't really believe what he was seeing, "uh… would you like a drink maybe? It's a little hot outside so…"

Shiina looked up at him and for a moment, he could have _sworn_ he saw her lips twitch upward a little as she nodded. He gave her a bright grin, jumping up onto the balls of his feet, suddenly filled with confidence, "I have a cat inside too, if you want to see her."

Her eyes were ablaze now, and Ooyama had a feeling that he had made another friend.

* * *

><p><strong>Okay so I sort of ship ninja chick with 'jack-of-all-trades' guy.<strong>

**Sue me.**


	14. Blue Goes Green

**Ey.**

**Here's another chapter.**

**I spent the entire day reading 'Rose Madder' and trying to decide whether it was time better spent doing something else.**

**I still don't know but here you go.**

**Angel Beats isn't mine, never was never will be.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen: Blue Goes Green<strong>

The first thought that crossed Hinata's mind when he met TK was that _'this guy's bandana is awesome'_.

But after that he _did_ wonder why the blonde kept dancing everywhere and saying weird phrases in another language that he was pretty sure didn't make a whole lot of sense in the context of the situation anyway.

Within a week of the boy's arrival at Hinata and Otonashi's school, he decided that it didn't really matter what kind of weird habits he had because those dance moves were _actually pretty sick_. Even Otonashi agreed in his dry, worrisome sort of way.

"Well, if he can keep doing head spins like that without crashing into any desks or people, that's certainly something to be admired. Though I don't know if he should be doing it in school." Hinata grinned at the red-head as he leaned in closer to try to get a peek at his noted.

Otonashi was used to Hinata and his habits though, and he had already covered up his work, raising his eyebrows at the boy to not-so-subtly imply that he should put in more effort and not just rely on him all the time.

Hinata pouted a little, leaning back in his chair before continuing their conversation, "come on, it's pretty impressive, look," he gestured to the blonde who was now standing up again, "He just did a flip, can't see you doing it." Though the idea of Otonashi attempting to do some sort of flip only to fall flat on his face in the most embarrassing of ways sure was oddly appealing, he couldn't help but admit.

"Acrobatics aren't my strong point," his friend narrowed his eyes at Hinata, as though Otonashi knew exactly what had been going on in his mind.

Their conversation was interrupted at that moment when TK did some sort of spinning crouch move, popping up right in front of Otonashi's desk and startling the red head so severely that he whacked his leg on the bottom, causing the objects on top of the desk to rattle and Otonashi to let out a yelp, clutching his knee with a grimace.

As Otonashi glowered at TK, Hinata took the given opportunity to copy down his friend's notes with a satisfied grin, sending a silent thank you the blonde's way.

TK was undoubtedly a great guy.

* * *

><p><p>

TK was flirting with Yui.

At least, Hinata was pretty sure he was flirting. Ninety-six point five four percent certain that there was some flirting going on.

The blonde was spinning around the smaller girl, going down to the floor before leaping back up again. He kept repeating phrases and though Hinata didn't really know the language very well, he thought he recognised 'kiss' and 'baby' in there a few times at least.

Yui seemed very attentive as well, watching his movements with wide eyes.

Jealousy grew inside Hinata and he bit his lip, looking away from the scene. More than anything, he wanted to go over there and drag her away, but he could hardly do something like that, could he?

Instead he turned and left the scene alone.

* * *

><p><p>

Hey Hinata! I want to show you som-"

"Sorry, I've got to go somewhere after this, so I really don't have time to wait around."

Yui glanced at the blue-haired boy in surprise as he made his way out to the back of the house to start mowing the grass. Hinata had never seemed so serious before, she wondered if there was something on his mind.

* * *

><p><p>

Hinata had dealt with unrequited crushes before (which made absolutely no sense given what an _obvious_ catch he was), but there was something different about this one. A crushing sense of loss in his chest, and a horrid feeling of failure, as though he'd been unable to fulfil his promise to someone.

He experienced weird moments like this before, he was always careful when crossing the road, when he had first seen the red-headed Otonashi, he had been struck by some strange conviction, '_I found you_', the same had happened for Yui too. But those feelings had faded within moments.

Every waking minute for him, he carried it in his heart, it wasn't just heartbreak, he didn't know what it was.

_'You've left me behind again_'.

He didn't know what to make of all this, he was fidgety for the next few weeks, constantly feeling as though he had to do something when he knew there was nothing for him to _do_ (well, there was homework but that's clearly not it). He got snappish and maudlin, even Naoi noticed if his 'the monkey seems to have realised his own unimportance' statement had been anything to go by.

Then again, Naoi said a lot of things like that, so maybe it was just Hinata's imagination.

In the end, the blue-haired boy decided to deal with this problem in the only reasonable way.

He would avoid it.

* * *

><p><p>

"Hinata can you-"

"Sorry Yui I gotta go!"

* * *

><p><p>

"Hinata lis-"

"Bye!"

* * *

><p><p>

"Hin-"

"Sorry, I have a thin-"

Yui punched him.

"Listen up stupid! I know you've been avoiding me, I don't know why you've been acting so weird but it's really annoying me, so stop it!"

Hinata rubbed his sore cheek, pouting slightly, "I haven't been ignoring you, you're imagining it."

"No I'm not."

"Well, either way, it shouldn't matter to you, just go back to your _boyfriend_."

Yui visibly startled then, giving him a curious look, eyebrow knitting together a little, "wha- who's… my boyfriend meant to be?"

"Well…. TK."

Yui's confusion slid away to leave a blank face, "TK?"

"Y-yeah," Hinata suddenly found himself speaking very defensively, "I saw the way you guys were flirting the other day, obviously you've got a thing for him an-"

This time Yui kicked him.

* * *

><p><p>

"So… you were getting TK to show you some dance moves."

"Of course," Yui rolled her eyes crouching to look down on Hinata who was currently lying on the floor as a result of Yui's last kick, "that guy isn't really my type. Besides, I have someone else I like."

Hinata looked up at that, "really, who?"

Yui sat back, a thoughtful expression on her face, "well, he's sort of attractive but really stupid. And freaking annoying, sometimes I swear I hate him. He's always so snide and bossy and rude and I don't what he's thinking half the time an-"

"Geez, why do you like him so much if he's so terrible," Hinata huffed irritably.

Yui looked at him then, a small frown on her face, "because it's you."

* * *

><p><strong>Ooh what now?<strong>


	15. Clever Colours

**Well, we're getting there. This is going to be finished sooner or later I suppose so hurray. I need to actually get to work on some of my other stories then though haha.**

**Boy, graduating from school is hard work though, suddenly so many responsibilities, I wanna go back already.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen: Clever Colours<strong>

"Ah, this is inconvenient."

Otonashi couldn't hold back a sigh as he stared at the blank screen in front of him. He had been finishing up an assignment when it had suddenly turned off, a quick glance confirmed that the laptop was still plugged in and charging meaning it didn't have a flat battery.

He tried to turn it back on, and when that did nothing removed the battery then placed it back in. He fiddled around with the machine for several minutes before admitting defeat.

He would need to take it in to the IT department.

"Hey, what's up, Oto?" A hand hooked around his neck and suddenly a goofily smiling Hinata was standing at his side. Ever since the boy had started dating Yui he had been relentlessly cheerful, Otonashi would have thought it tiring to keep up, but the blue-haired boy seemed genuinely delighted, he was even being nice to Naoi.

"Well, my laptop is broken and I'm going to have to take it in which will be a pain."

Hinata waved a hand dismissively, "don't do that, they take forever to fix laptops, didn't you say a few days ago that you have an assignment due soon?"

"Well what am I supposed to do?"

Hinata grinned, "I know this boy in our grade, he's a real genius when it comes to this sort of thing, come on."

* * *

><p><p>

"Hey Takeyama we've got a broken laptop for you to fix."

"I've asked you before, please call me Christ."

Otonashi hovered in the doorway of the IT lab awkwardly clutching his satchel in his hands, laptop safely held inside the bag. He didn't really see how this was any different than seeing one of the teachers, but according to Hinata, this guy quicker than all the rest combined. He'd most likely be able to identify and solve the problem before lunch even ended; what's more, he apparently owed Hinata a favour, so it would be free of charge.

With a sigh Otonashi walked into the room, opening up his satchel and removing the laptop. Takeyama held out his hands for it and Otonashi placed it in them gently.

Immediately, the brunette spun around in his chair, placing the laptop down and turning it over. Otonashi had no idea what he was doing, but his hands moved fast, removing things, putting them back, fiddling with the machine and assessing the damage.

As Takeyama played around with the computer, Hinata came to stand beside Otonashi, "see," he said, crossing his arms, "he's a total pro."

"He sure is… doing something," the red head replied, feeling a little helpless.

At that point, the door burst open and an angry looking boy with purple hair marched into the room, "Takeyama, my computer's broken again, fix it," he chucked the laptop onto the bench carelessly next to the boy.

Takeyama did not look up from his work, rectangular glasses flashing as he replied with, "if you are going to continue breaking your laptop by throwing it at people, I won't keep fixing it. And call me Christ."

"Listen, I didn't mean to break the stupid laptop, now fix it, that's what you do," when Takeyama didn't respond he grabbed him by the shirt, "hey, I'm talking to you."

The brunette turned to him then, a blank expression on his face, "pi is equal to 3.14159265359…"

The purple haired boy started to pale, his grip on Takeyama's shirt loosening before releasing entirely. Otonashi and Hinata watched in utter disbelief as the violent boy let out a shout and fainted.

"He really is an idiot," Takeyama said simply before turning back to Otonashi's laptop. He picked it up and handed it to Otonashi.

"It wasn't anything serious, it should be fine now, please feel free to ask me for assistance if anything goes wrong with it again," he spoke nearly cheerfully, as though there wasn't an unconscious body on the floor behind him.

Otonashi accepted the laptop warily, "ah, thanks, Takeyama."

"Please, call me Christ."

* * *

><p><strong>Yeah.<strong>


	16. Off-Coloured White

**I'm so tired like you would not believe. There's not even a reason for it, I just keep procrastinating sleeping and now look at me.**

**Go to be on time kids.**

**The only thing I own is a sad, tired mind.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen: Off-Coloured White<strong>

Kanade dressed slowly that morning. For some reason, she had been feeling rather lethargic lately, she'd been having troubles with school as well, having to go home early or sometimes not even going at all because she felt too unwell.

She knew that Yuri was worried; she had been a rather sickly child when she was younger and it wasn't like she was all better now either. She knew that. But at the same time, she didn't feel too alarmed.

Rather, she felt that no matter how sick she got, or how much she suffered, she wouldn't be able to die from something like this, not yet anyway. There was something she had to do first.

Someone she had to meet.

She didn't know where this conviction had come from. Maybe it had crept up on her, maybe it had been triggered by something. But for whatever reason it was there now.

She wondered if it was connected to the oddness in her heart. She knew that she had a weak heart of course, but this was a little different, and she had noticed the feeling around the same time she had noticed this strange conviction. She would have been hard-pressed to describe it if asked (even if she _had_ been good at explaining things), but it was as though the heart inside her chest wasn't right. It didn't fit exactly, didn't beat the way it should, it was the wrong shape, the wrong size, the wrong _heart_.

And she wasn't sure that was related to any medical condition at all.

* * *

><p><p>

"Hey Kanade! How're you feeling today?"

A hand descended on the top of Kanade's silver head, ruffling the strands of long hair till they stuck up comically, "Yuri?"

Kanade looked up at her friend, smoothing down her hair distractedly with one hand – a common habit for her now, since more often than not, Yuri liked to do things like this. She was fairly certain the purple-haired girl liked to do it to annoy her younger sisters, it had probably then extended to her at some point or another, though she couldn't really remember when it started.

"I'm feeling fine," she answered finally, in a complacent tone. The taller girl gave her a quick once-over before nodding to herself, obviously having decided that Kanade was telling the truth.

She should really stop worrying Yuri.

Kanade just wished that the girl could understand that she checked up with the doctors once every two months. If she needed more regular checks they would have made sure she had them, if there was something wrong, they would have realised.

Nothing abnormal had been spotted last check-up.

She had probably just caught some sort of cold.

And if there was a slight issue, it would be unfortunate, but probably not dangerous. She was going to see her GP in two weeks anyway, and scheduling an impromptu appointment would cost extra money, and be rather wasteful. It would be simpler to wait.

So other than Yuri, Kanade ended up not telling anyone about the discomfort in her chest. It would cause pointless worry and she didn't want to bother anyone any more than necessary.

It would be fine.

* * *

><p><p>

Kanade found herself to be surprisingly reluctant to go to school that day. She felt weak and shivery, all hot and cold all over, sort of like a fever. It wasn't anything she couldn't handle, it was the final day of the week and she could rest for the weekend.

In the end, the most painful thing was her chest.

It felt all tight and sore and so very wrong. The tune her heart was beating out seemed out of beat, incorrect. These feelings weren't new, but they were magnified, as though something was trying to warn her.

But it was only another week and she'd be going back to visit her doctor. It would be pointless. So she went to school.

And in the middle of her Maths class, Kanade Tachibana collapsed.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm not gonna lie. I'm not too interested in revisiting their past lives beyond a few references and never-to-be-understood-by-the-characters feelings, but like... yeah. Still wrote this chapter so... idk where I'm going with this, ignore my Author Notes.<strong>


	17. Coloured Mix

**Guess who just finished the fma manga?**

**This sobbing mess.**

**I own neither Angel Beats nor any tissues and I am in severe trouble.**

**Send help**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen: Coloured Mix<strong>

"Hey, did you hear about that guy that stripped in the middle of class the other day?"

"Yeah, I thought he was the quiet studious type. Maybe I just got that impression from his glasses or something, seems he's really an idiot."

"Those are valid points but I was there and I saw it and it was very out of nowhere, but he had a pretty good body so I have to admit, I appreciated it."

Otonashi sighed as he tuned out the sudden scandalised giggles coming from the girls behind him. It wasn't just those three that were talking about it though. To the red head's dismay, everyone in the entire class, in fact, the entire _school_ seemed to be discussing it.

_'Well, I sure hope he was looking for attention when he did that, because he certainly got it,'_ Otonashi thought to himself, leaning forward to look at his notes and trying to ignore the gossiping. The final year of school had just begun and he really needed to focus on his work if he was going to get into a good university and study medicine. The fact that another weirdo had joined the school was hardly any reason for him to be led astray from his task.

There were a few other people like him, who had chosen to ignore this new hot topic of discussion. Towards the back of the classroom – much to the chagrin of the teacher – TK was teaching another student how to dance. The other student was rather wide, with brown hair and a benevolent expression. Otonashi didn't know much about him except for the fact that he apparently learnt some kind of martial arts. Looking at him gracefully copying TK's movements, Otonashi could believe that easily.

Of course, he didn't particularly think that dancing was a better alternative to all this chatter. Well, at least they were being quiet about it. Otonashi never thought he would consider two people dancing to be less distracting than a group of people talking, but he supposed one could be wrong about all manner of things.

And speaking of being wrong…

Hinata was sitting next to Otonashi, studying studiously, a sight the red head had never thought he would witness. He figured that this proved that even with all the years you could know someone, they can still surprise you.

He wondered if it was a little condescending, but he was quite proud of his friend. The blue haired boy had finally started working towards his future, though he couldn't help but wonder what kind of future that was. All lesson his curiosity had been driving him mad but he didn't want to interrupt Hinata.

When the other boy suddenly put his pencil down and stretched out his fingers, Otonashi decided to take that opportunity and peeked at his friend's work, hoping for a clue as to what prompted such a sudden change in Hinata's behaviour.

He didn't particularly expect to see what he saw.

But in retrospect, he should have expected it entirely.

"H… Hinata, what is this?"

Otonashi's voice sounded defeated, even to him, but Hinata didn't seem to notice as he turned in his direction, a grin on his face.

"Oh, you saw it did you? Pretty good if I do say so myself, I reckon I'm improving, then again, I've been practising heaps so I should be."

Otonashi didn't even bother acknowledging the teen's self-congratulations, "why did you draw this?"

The other raised an eyebrow as though _Otonashi's_ behaviour was confusing, "what are you talking about? You're the one going on about how we need to start thinking of how future. That's what I'm doing," he gestured to the picture and Otonashi looked at it again with a sigh. From what he could make out, a person who was probably Hinata was playing baseball; in the background there were two cheerleaders. On closer inspection he saw those two cheerleaders to be himself and Yui, both with idiotic grins on their faces, and wearing some kind of cheerleading outfit.

A female cheerleading outfit.

With a skirt.

Otonashi couldn't help but wonder how Hinata's future had anything to do with him cross-dressing.

"I'm going to be a professional baseball player," Hinata stated at Otonashi's exasperated look, as though that explained everything, "I've got to get myself into the right mindset, so I figured I should sketch out what it'll look like."

"Is that so…" Otonashi figured the best thing to do was put aside the effectiveness of that plan and focus on other, more pressing issues, "why are Yui and I cheerleading in the background, Hinata?"

"Well, a pro's got have his own cheerleaders, and I think Yui would look really cute in one of those outfits."

Using every ounce of his self-control, Otonashi forced himself to keep his voice level as he asked, "okay, so why am I there?"

"Well, it would look pretty pathetic with only one cheerleader. Some might say that one was worse than none."

"Why am I wearing the female cheerleading gear?" His voice was steadily rising.

"Well, you're a cheerleader."

"There are male cheerleaders, there are _male outfits_."

"Huh? Really."

"_Yes_. So if you're going to insist on drawing me, at least put me in clothes matching my gender."

"But I don't know how to draw guy cheerleader outfits. I'll just leave you in this one-"

"I'M NOT GOING TO WEAR A SKIRT, HINATA!"

The classroom fell silent. Even TK and his student stopped dancing to stare.

Otonashi forced a smile for his classmates and teacher, awkwardly apologising, "please don't mind me, sorry about disturbing the class, it's nothing, feel free to go on talking about the stripper guy."

He slid into his seat, embarrassment running through his veins and turning his cheeks red, the colour spreading as far as his ears and neck and matching his hair as he placed his face in his hands with a groan. Thankfully, after a few more moments of staring, everyone went back to their original conversations, turning away from the humiliated boy.

"Honestly," Otonashi turned towards his friend at the sound of his voice, "you sure can be embarrassing sometimes."

Otonashi found himself genuinely questioning whether he made a mistake in befriending Hideki Hinata all those years ago.

* * *

><p><strong>Ey.<strong>

**I sort of recycled a scene from the old version because it was funny.**

**I really love Hinata and Otonashi interactions, they're both losers.**


	18. Canonically Coloured

**So you get some NodaxYuri in this chapter.**

**Well the whole chapter's that basically.**

**Have fun.**

**I don't own Angel Beats**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen: Canonically Coloured<strong>

This was it.

The big day.

This was the day that he, Noda was going to ask out the girl of his dreams.

Yuri Nakamura.

_"Yuri!" She turned, smiling at Noda when she saw him. She was as beautiful as ever, probably more beautiful. She got prettier every day like one of those graphs that curved. Noda didn't know what they were called but they were probably good for measuring the scale of her cuteness._

_"What is it Noda?"_

_She tilted her head to the side, a hand reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear that was missed by the headband she always wore._

_Noda gave her a dashing smile, "well, you see, I brought these for you," he held out the flowers to her, smirking confidently as she blushed, "oh, I don't know what to say. Are these really for me?"_

_"Of course, you're the only one in my sights, Yuri."_

_Her blush intensified, "what are you trying to say, Noda?"_

_"I'm saying that I love you."_

_Joy flashed in Yuri's eyes as she launched herself into Noda's waiting arms, "I love you too Noda, I was just too shy to tell you so I ignored and insulted you all this time because I didn't want you to find out! I'm sorry!"_

_Noda smiled forgivingly, "I love you, so of course I forgive you."_

_Yuri gave him a delighted, loving smile, leaning in slowly, her eyes sliding shut. Noda bent down and their lips met halfway. At last, after all these years he was able to tell Yuri how he felt._

Well, admittedly not quite yet.

Noda had the flowers though so he was already more than halfway there. Now all he needed was to tell Yuri how he felt and wait to hear her response. Now that Noda had finally decided he was going to do this, it would be a piece of cake. He could do anything once he put his mind to it after all.

* * *

><p><p>

"Yuri!"

She turned, a frown on her face, "what is it Noda, I'm heading somewhere?"

Noda paused, fidgeting a little with the flowers in his sweaty grasp, "well… that is, I mean… you see, Yuri, there's something I've been wanting to-"

He was cut off by a cell phone ringing.

With a flick of her head, Yuri answered the phone, "sorry Noda, I'll talk to you later."

"Wai-"

She left.

* * *

><p><p>

Noda leaned casually against the wall, "so Yuri-"

"Can't talk right now, sorry Noda."

"Ah, but!"

Gone.

* * *

><p><p>

"Listen Yuri. You see, sometimes someone has feelings for someone and then that someone doesn't know but they've been holding these feelings in for years and years and they've always liked them but not wanted to say anything because they didn't understand what they were feeling and then they didn't want to make the other uncomfortable by burdening them with their feelings and these feelings I'm talking about- l-love I suppose, but, well… the point that I'm trying to make is…

"I'm in love with you, Yuri!"

Noda took a deep breath, forcing himself to quell the blush on his cheeks. It was so lame he didn't know how to handle it. In fact, this entire confession was, but at least he had managed to tell Yuri how he felt. After all these years he had told her. He was honestly a little scared to see her reaction, but after a few more moments to calm himself he turned towards her…

She was gone.

"Y-Yuri? Wait, don't tell me she left before I even got to finish what I was trying to say!?"

* * *

><p>Noda slumped down onto the ground on his driveway, the flowers fell out of his hands and onto the concrete below him.<p>

"Maybe she's just not meant to know? Maybe me telling her would cause her all kinds of trouble, so she doesn't _want_ to know."

Noda let out a sigh of exasperation, letting his head fall into his hands, "I shouldn't let something like this discourage me, as the hero of the story of course I'm going to face some challenges in the pursuit of love," he groaned, "I didn't really think there'd be so many though."

"Challenges? What are you talking about, Noda?"

The boy froze at the familiar voice, one which he had come to love over the years.

"Yuri? What are you doing here?" He stumbled to his feet and attempted a casual pose, as though he hadn't just been moping on the ground.

Yuri smirked a little, crossing her arms, "did you just mention that you have something you wanted to tell me?"

Noda stiffened, could this really be it? Was this really the big moment? Had those past incidents only been done in order to test his love? A challenge of his dedication and determination?

"Y-Yuri!" He took a deep breath, trying to calm his hammering heart, "I- well, that is… the thing is you see- I've been wanting to say that…" he squeezed his eyes shut, "I-"

"You really do take forever to say the important things."

He looked up at her, "Wha-"

And she kissed him.

* * *

><p><strong>Who likes cliche scenes?<strong>

**I hope you guys do because that's all that was in this omg.**

**Why was Yuri running around so much? Did she know and was just teasing Noda? Was she worried about her hospitalized friend?**

**Who knows?**

**It'll never be answered.**


	19. Cheerleader Pink

**I cannot believe people are still reading this mess of cliches and cheesiness omg**

**I don't own Angel Beats**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen: Cheerleader Pink<strong>

This was it.

The big game.

This final ball would decide the winning team for the season. It was such an utterly, unbelievably cliché moment and all Hinata could think was that he totally had to take this chance to do something cool and impress Yui.

Well, not just Yui. He wanted to impress his teammates, Otonashi and everyone else watching really. He figured it would be the best way to end the season to be carried out on the cheering shoulders of his friends. Maybe they would do that thing where they poured water over you in celebration? Hinata didn't really understand it but he thought it looked fun so he'd like it if that could happen.

He was out in the field at the moment, ready to catch the ball if it came anywhere in his direction. His other teammates were spread out in the own positions, decided before they began the game at all.

He was out towards the left of the field, crouching a little where he stood and waiting as the opposing team sent out their next batter. Hinata couldn't help but groan a little when he saw who it was. Some guy called Noda, his purple hair making it obvious to identify him. There wasn't so much the issue of him being a hard person to field for (well, he was strong, and he hit the ball incredibly far and incredibly high as though he thought he could win this game with strength alone), the problem came from the fact that he practically _always_ hit out towards the right side of the field. That just seemed to be his preferred direction.

There was no way Hinata would get his last few minutes of glory.

With a huff he straightened up, letting his hand fall to his side and pulling down his cap over his eyes a little. He watched as his teammates on the other side of the field moved back, trying to get out as far as they could in order to catch Noda's strong hit.

Hinata raised his un-gloved hand to the back of neck, running his fingers through the damp, sweaty hair there and grimacing at the sensation. The day was incredibly humid, with little to no wind to cool off their final game. The air was hazy and Hinata's throat felt like sandpaper, his lungs like dry paper bags, void of any moisture.

At least with this final bat they'd be able to finish the game and get into the air-conditioning. Though Yui probably wouldn't talk to him until he had a shower, apparently he has a very bad smell when he's too sweaty. Hinata thought it was simply the scent of a man, relishing in the activity he loves. Yui told him that the scent of a man, relishing in the activity he loves is a bad scent and she doesn't want to smell it.

When his teammate stepped back to throw the ball, Hinata shook his head and turned back to the game. He wanted to watch this last toss, the one that would either make or break the game for them.

The baseball was thrown, curving upwards at high speeds. That was Fujimaki for you, he may have a terrible personality, but he was a great server.

Unfortunately, Noda was a great batter.

The wooden bat collided with the ball with a 'thwack' that seemed to resound throughout the entire stadium. For a moment, Hinata didn't fully understand what was going on. Because the ball wasn't going to the right of the field like it was supposed to.

It was coming straight at him.

It was like time seemed to melt away from around him. The sun was blaring down on Hinata, his blood was pumping through his veins, drowning out any other noise, his hands and legs felt like lead. He couldn't move, he couldn't even bring himself to lift up his glove. All he could think of was that he _hadn't_ caught it. He had _missed_, it was already too late.

It was over.

He wouldn't catch the ball.

"HEY LOSER WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? CATCH THE BALL!"

He startled at the sound of Yui's voice, blinking rapidly and stumbling back, raising his hand without thinking.

The ball landed right into his glove.

He stared at it, numb with shock. He could vaguely hear Yui's loud cheering and Noda's even louder complaining, but all he noticed was the ball in his hand. The chill in his veins was replaced by warmth as he looked up and saw his teammates grinning with him, faces glistening with sweat as a few of them raised a triumphant fist in his direction, grins were evident all around and Hinata realised after a moment that he was wearing one of his own.

They had won.

He promised himself that once he spoke to Yui again he would hug her.

He'd even make sure he had taken a shower beforehand.

* * *

><p><strong>I just realised everyone's probably going to be a little annoyed with the ending of this fanfic haha oops<strong>


	20. Lack Of Colour

**I was going to do a lot more with the whole 'colour' theme I had going but then I forgot to while I was writing. Or maybe at the time I figured it was better not to? I don't really remember but either way, I do feel it's a bit of a shame.**

**The one bad thing about websites like this is I can go back and look at some of the other things I've uploaded and the author comments I've made and it's like a wall of shame, my embarrassing past personality and all the things I haven't uploaded for a while *shudder***

**Another thing I realised is that I seem to precede a lot of my fanfic chapters with some monologue of my insecurity in my writing, usually apologising for a shoddy job and the like. I really need to stop doing that haha.**

**Anyway, enough from me, I don't own Angel Beats.**

**I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty: Lack Of Colour<strong>

"You really are too reckless, Kanade."

The golden eyed girl turned away from her book, looking up to her friend instead. She wasn't sure if that was particularly the case, weren't reckless people the type of people who jumped out of planes, or climbed mountains? That seemed more the type of thing Yuri or her boyfriend would do. Not Kanade.

Nevertheless, she found herself nodding, a slight inclination of the head because even if she hadn't thought her actions to be particularly daring and reckless, she had collapsed during school due to her nearly careless attitude towards her heart pains. She knew the problems she had with her heart, and yet she has pretended that she would be fine if she simply held out for a week or so longer.

But it was done now, Kanade knew there was no changing her behaviour back then.

The doctors didn't find anything particularly out of the ordinary when she was taken into the hospital anyway. They weren't entirely sure why she collapsed and in the end, they told her to simply take a few weeks up on school, since it was likely due to fatigue and exhaustion.

She had done exactly that. Not wanting to overestimate herself and have a repeat of the school incident, Kanade found herself sitting at him on the couch, with a light sheet covering her legs and a book in hand, the TV on low, providing a comfortable background noise to lull her into complacency.

At least, until Yuri came to visit again.

Kanade didn't mind the visiting, she decided, watching the purple haired girl sit on the edge of the couch and nudging her legs over to make room. Sometimes Yuri brought Noda over, and that was fun. Today she had brought someone with her too. But as Kanade's eyes settled on the blonde, she realised she didn't know the girl.

She had a blank resting face, the same kind that Kanade did. She seemed like a quiet, reserved type of girl, which was probably the impression Kanade herself gave off.

Her expression didn't flicker as she tilted her head to one side slightly, the blonde stared back unblinkingly, neither of them said a word for a full minute, then Yuri butted in, "this is Yusa, Kanade, she joined our class today and we happened to be heading in the same direction. I asked her if she wanted to come in say hello to you and she said yes."

Kanade didn't bother pointing out that inviting people into another person's house wasn't the best of manners. Yuri didn't seem to care about that sort of thing anyway, and it didn't particularly bother the smaller girl anyway.

Kanade's eyes flicked back to the blonde, Yusa, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Kanade Tachibana."

Yusa nodded, "nice to meet you, Kanade."

Her voice was soft like Kanade's was, as she had expected. Her words were short and to the point, reminding her in a way of how she herself conversed with other people, by saying as little as possible.

Yuri seemed to think the same thing, "I thought of it earlier, but the two of you really are alike. Were you sisters in another life or something?"

Kanade shook her head slightly, "a similarity in personality doesn't necessarily mean that two people are related."

Yusa nodded, "that's right."

As Yuri awkwardly explained how it had been a joke, Kanade found herself looking down at her sheets, one hand tangled within the cloth, the other coming up to grasp loosely at her shirt. The uncomfortable feeling in her chest was intense, but when she had told the doctors about it, they had been unable to figure out what the cause was. Technically speaking, her heart was fine now. She had taken the medication followed her exercises; there was no reason to think she hadn't recovered. In the end, Kanade had stopped mentioning it.

For some reason, she felt there was nothing any doctor could do to help this problem anyway.

* * *

><p><strong>Two more chapters after this guys. Yeah we did it!<strong>


	21. Lavender Love

**Does anyone watch Lazy Town?**

**Cause let me tell you, never have I identified more with a villain than I have with the bad guy in that show.**

**Not to mention, the guy has incredible hair.**

**Anyway, second last chapter.**

**More cheesiness, prepare yourselves.**

**I don't own Angel Beats.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-One: Lavender Love<strong>

"I know I'd be really cute in a cheerleader outfit, that's a given, but I'm not going to wear one to cheer for you."

"But why _not_? If you did that I'd definitely get so pumped that I'd win the entire game on my own, Yui," Hinata didn't try to hide the whining tone his voice took on. Even if it was just once, he _really_ wanted to see his girlfriend wear a cheerleading outfit. Ever since he had drawn that picture it had been on his mind, and the more he thought about it, the more appealing it seemed.

Yui grinned mischievously, "I have no intention of dressing up in something like that for you. You know, if Otonashi were playing then I might go cheer for him, he's a more decent guy than you anyway."

Hinata's whining increased tenfold, "why would you dress up for Oto and not for _me_? I'm your boyfriend and I'm a decent guy aren't I?" It wasn't just seeing Yui in a cheerleading outfit at stake anymore; he couldn't just accept the fact that Yui thought Otonashi was more decent than him. The guy was totally stealing his girlfriend!

Well, maybe not really since Hinata was pretty sure Otonashi had shown no interest in dating her, nor did Hinata doubt Yui. But Otonashi was still stealing his girlfriend!

Actually, speaking of Otonashi getting a girlfriend, the guy's never had one. Maybe Hinata should employ his totally amazing skills of wingmanship and find the guy a date. Though frankly speaking, if Otonashi started going out with someone, Naoi would probably cry.

They didn't see the green-haired boy much anymore, a year or so ago his family had moved down south, he was going to a different school and living in a different city. He had cried himself hoarse before he left, clinging onto Otonashi and apologising for it. Otonashi had taken it in his usual way, but right before Naoi left, Hinata had seen him give the boy a hug and a smile goodbye.

Naoi still called Otonashi every night, sometimes he even rang Hinata though that was more to insult him than anything else. It would probably be for the best if the other boy didn't find out about Otonashi's girlfriend.

Well, the girlfriend Hinata was _going_ to get him.

As part of the role of best friend since you're meant to hook your friends up with people all the time.

So that's what Hinata would do.

"You have that look on your face that means you've got an idea," Yui said, peering at him suspiciously, "and the only ideas you have are bad ideas."

Hinata bristled, "my ideas are great, and made out of love."

"And end up with someone covered in yoghurt."

"Okay first of all, that happened _once_."

Yui laughed and to Hinata it sounded like bells, she skipped to a stop in the middle of the road, something which Hinata might have tried to scold her for only they were on a side road, and no one really drove around there anyway, so it didn't matter. Instead, he found himself standing on the pavement, five steps behind her, looking at her with a small slightly goofy (though he'd deny it) smile on his face.

"So what's this idea of yours then, Hinata? Does it involve me dressing up in a cheerleading costume?"

Hinata froze, admittedly he had been distracted by planning how he was going to get his best friend into a relationship. He was disappointed in himself for forgetting about something so incredibly important, however, an opportunity had apparently presented itself so he had best take advantage of it.

"Yes, very much. You absolutely have to wear a cheerleading outfit for this idea, can't do without it," Hinata said, nodding seriously.

Yui rocked back and forth on her heels, an amused smile on her face, "I see, and what else does this idea involve?"

"Getting Otonashi a girlfriend."

Yui outright snorted at that, "Hinata, leave your friend alone, if he wants to be single then let him be."

The boy pouted, "Can you at least still dress up."

Yui shook a head, smothering her smile as Hinata's pout increased.

At that point, Hinata heard the sound of a car. Startled he turned to his right to see a blue Holden appear around the corner, the sun glinting off its metal. Hinata felt dread run through him momentarily, it was moving faster than it was supposed to be in a suburban area. Yui had plenty of time to get out of the way thou-

Yui was still standing there.

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><p><p>

Yui recognised vaguely that the way to respond to a car driving at high speeds in your direction was to jump out of the way. Or even calmly walk off the road, provided you moved and didn't stay in that spot where you could be hit. She did know that, technically, and if you had asked her at any other point of the day she would have replied with saying that was the obvious way to react.

But even though she knew it was weird, she found that she wasn't moving.

Her feet were glued to the asphalt, her knees locked, her mind frozen. Her body felt peculiarly numb, tingling vaguely as though she were about to suffer from oncoming pins and needles. She knew logically that there was more than enough time to jump out of the way. But as the car came closer all she could do was stare at it with wide eyes because there was no way there enough time to jump out of the way and she was going to be hit and hurt. She won't be able to move again. There's not enough time.

She closed her eyes at the collision.

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><p><p>

It must have been only a few seconds that she lay on the ground. But to Yui, it felt like a lifetime. A rock dug into her back, and her body felt vaguely crushed, squished under the weight of the warm body above her.

She opened her eyes slowly to see Hinata panting above her, terror morphing into relief then anger, "what were you _doing_ Yui? Why didn't you jump out of the way?"

With those words, the whispers in her mind vanished, the numbness melted away from her body and she took in a deep breath, feeling a trembling set in. Without a word, she reached up and hugged Hinata, holding in her soft, gasping breaths and she clutched him tightly. With a small sigh, Hinata returned the embrace, rubbing a hand on her back comfortingly while she calmed down.

When her chaotic thoughts finally stilled she pulled back and looked Hinata in the eyes. He waited patiently as she gave him a shaky smile, "next time you play baseball I'll dress up in a cheerleading outfit for you."

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><p><strong>So I can't write suspense pfft.<strong>

**Anyway, it was pretty cool the other day. We went to a family friend's house for a Christmas party and one of my friends from a year ago who moved away was there. It was a fancy dress party and I went as Little Red Riding Hood and when I get there I find out Emily is coming too so I'm like cool and when she turns up she's dressed as Little Red Riding Hood too. Like, it's been a year and we've still got some kind of psychic link going on, heck yeah.**


	22. Red For Love

**Okay, so this is the last chapter.**

**I'm glad it's done.**

**I think I'm gonna have to start focusing on my grammar more in these but either way;**

**I don't own Angel Beats**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed.**

**And I hope you all enjoy this last chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-Two: Red For Love<strong>

Otonashi was headed to the park. Apparently some guy called Noda was holding a grudge against Hinata for striking him out in the last game, so he was demanding a rematch. Yui was going to be going along and apparently dressing up as a cheerleader. Noda was bringing along a few friends as well, so they were all going to play.

Hinata had insisted that Otonashi needed to come along, apparently there were going to be some girls there so he should 'take this opportunity to familiarise himself with the opposite gender'. Well, there was a bit of paraphrasing there; Hinata said something more along the line of 'chat up the chicks there and get yourself a girlfriend you lonely geezer', but Otonashi figured he had got the meaning more or less correct.

So he was walking down the streets, bag on shoulder, long hair covering his eyes, worrying about his little sister Hatsune who had gone out on a date that day. On the one hand he sincerely hoped that he would give her the best day of her life. On the other, he prayed that the day would go horribly and she would swear of dating for at least a few more years.

He should probably seriously consider the possibility of him having a brother complex.

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><p>Kanade was outside.<p>

For the first time in about a month, she was walking around outside without anyone else hovering over her shoulder, or nervously asking if she was okay. The freedom was quite pleasant to be honest.

Yuri had asked her to come along to the park. Apparently Noda had issued some kind of challenge to a death-by-baseball game with someone. Frankly speaking, Noda was always challenging people and picking fights, so Kanade hadn't really payed much attention to the name.

As it was, she had decided to head over to the shops first. It was in the complete opposite direction to the park, but she figured everyone was going to be hungry and thirsty when they finished running around, so it would be good to have something to give them, or else there would undoubtedly be complaining.

She tugged at the light blue jacket that she was wearing, lifting her bag slightly in the other hand. Her chest was hurting again, but it was a different feeling for some reason. All fluttering, beating fast and hard. She didn't know what it meant but for some reason she had been holding her breath all day.

With a small sigh at her own foolishness, she lowered her hat against the sun, blinking rapidly before beginning to hum softly. It was a song by a band that she was quite fond of, Girls Dead Monster.

She could hear the lyrics within her head as she hummed, for some reason this one song had made a large impression on her. The moment she had heard it, she had found herself humming the tune at every opportunity. So she continued to do so, even as she paused and rested against a wall, making sure her purse was in her bag. Out of the corner of her eyes she noticed another person with red hair pass by her, undoubtedly he could hear her just like everyone else, but she continued to hum, adjusting the strap on her shoulder and walking on.

_'…Can we hang it proud?_

_Man must go on regardless_

_That is my song'_

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><p>Otonashi crossed the road carefully, looking down at his feet as he walked. To be honest, that was the general pose he took, never meeting people's eyes, never noticing people who walk past him. Despite that, his eyes immediately picked out a pale girl leaning against a wall as he walked past her. She seemed to almost glow, like an angel.<p>

Otonashi had always thought it quite ridiculous to compare a person to such a celestial being, but that was the only word that came to mind when he looked at her.

With an embarrassed shake of his head he moved on, not wanting to be seen staring at someone. He had only taken a step or two when the girl straightened and began walking away. He tucked his hands in his pockets and made to move on, but the song that she was humming suddenly reached his ears.

_'It's because you're crying'_

It was incredibly strange. He didn't think he had heard that tune before, certainly not often enough to recognise it. Yet for some reason…

_'It's because you're lonely'_

He did.

_'You're right'_

He didn't know why, but he felt himself filled with melancholy and yet, joy. As though he had lost something incredibly precious and only just now found it again.

_'That's being human'_

He turned and stared after the girl.

_'Those tears I cried'_

His feet seemed to move on his own.

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><p><em>'Those tears I cried'<em>

Kanade's heart was pounding. Every step she took seemed to be significant for some reason.

_'In time'_

That was appropriate. Because for some reason, all she could think was that it was time.

_'It's so beautiful'_

Something was coming, someone was coming.

And she was right.

Because at that moment, a hand landed on her shoulder and turned her around, "w-wait."

She stared at the boy in front of her. The one who had walked past her only moment's ago now out of breath, flushed and confused.

The song was still playing through, an endless recording in her mind and all she could think was how very red this boy was. Red hair, red eyes, red cheeks.

She had always liked the colour red.

_'It's not a lie'_

"I'm- um, I'm Yuzuru Otonashi, I just wanted to say that…"

Kanade watched him trail off awkwardly, no doubt trying to work out why exactly he _had_ stopped her, a complete stranger, in the middle of the street. Normally she would think it was weird.

But as she gazed at his awkward expression, she realised that her heart for some reason had stilled, beating at a slow, methodical that felt comfortable, and _right_. More right than it had ever felt before. It made her think that maybe this boy, for whatever strange reason, was the thing she was waiting for.

And she didn't think it so strange for him to stop her in the middle of the street after all.

_'For the real us'_

She gazed at the boy from underneath her hat. He seemed to be at a complete loss of words now, simply staring at her with helpless eyes. Her lips tilted up in a very slight smile, "I'm Kanade Tachibana."

_'Thank you'_

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><p><strong>So there you go.<strong>

**Also, though I'm sure everyone knows this, the song Kanade hums is 'My Song' which is the song sung by Iwasawa right before she disappears.**

**I said the word 'song' too many times in that sentence.**

**Bye guys!**

**Thanks for reading 3**


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